Harry Potter and the Aegis Stone
by WolfShadow713
Summary: Pre DH. AU. After the disastrous end to his sixth year, Harry decides that it's up to him to end the war. Forming a new group after the Ministry and The Order fail to do anything about Voldemort: Harry, Hermione, and Ron strike back. HarryGinny and RHr.
1. It Begins, All Aboard!

As the train pulled away from the station, Harry watched Hogsmeade disappear behind them. He knew he might be seeing the all wizarding town, or the Thestrals pulling the school carriages back up the path to the castle, for the last time. But strangely enough he was pretty much calm that he might be killed by the darkest wizard of their time by the end of the summer. If his death was what the ultimate price was for defeating Voldemort, then he was willing to pay it.

Harry turned away from the window. His two best friends sat across from him hunched over and whispering. Hermione could have apparated, seeing how she was the only one of them legally able to do so, but she chose to ride the Hogwarts Express with them instead. The way the two were looking at each other was the main reason she chose to ride the train. If only either one could find that famous Gryffindor courage and make the first move. Harry felt his stomach twist. Not from the idea of his mates hooking up, although the thought of seeing Ron and Hermione snogging was sickening enough, but from the fact that he missed Ginny.

Normally she would have ridden in the same compartment as them but since they broke up, both of them decided that for appearance sake she should share with someone else. There had been something in her eyes when she agreed to break it off that Harry didn't really like. The youngest Weasley seemed to have received traits from the rest of the family. Just as stubborn as her mother, cunning like the twins, and independent as Bill.

"Care for a game mate?" Ron asked pulling Harry away from his thoughts. His friend already had the board set up, the pieces impatiently tapping their feet. Hermione had pulled a book out of her bag and was reading, one finger twisting a lock of her hair.

"Sure."

They played three games, Ron winning them all of course. Harry thought about making a lame excuse that he was distracted by all of the old DA members coming by to say bye for the summer, but decided not to bother. If there was one thing Ron would always be the best at, it was chess.

In what seemed like a few minutes the trip was over. Ron had just yelled check-mate again when the train started slowing. Harry stood up, getting his things ready. He didn't notice anything wrong until Hermione spoke.

"Are you alright Ron?"

Harry glanced at his best mate. Ron's face was pale the only color was from his hair and even that was lighter than usual. Harry's first thought was that someone had hexed Ron. Even though he knew the ferret was hiding somewhere groveling before Voldemort, Harry expected to see Malfoy standing outside their compartment with his two goons. Crabbe and Goyle were on the train but Harry knew that without Malfoy there to tell them what to do, they wouldn't cause any trouble. So he wasn't really surprised to see the corridor was empty, or that it was Hermione who correctly guessed what was bothering Ron.

"You haven't told you parents that we're leaving with Harry, have you?"

Ron gulped and shook his head which seemed to be the wrong thing to do. Hermione glared him.

"Honestly Ron! Why do you always wait until the last minute? Don't you think it would have been better to send an owl instead of having her yell at you on the platform? Right in front of the whole school?"

"I didn't think about that."

Hermione huffed. She grabbed her things and stormed out of the compartment, leaving the boys alone. After a few seconds of uncomfortable silence, Ron turned to Harry.

"Sorry Ron. You're on your own with her" said Harry trying hard to hide his grin. "But I will talk to your parents with you if it'll help."

Ron visibly relaxed. "Thanks mate. If you're there mum won't go completely ballistic. Maybe she won't even get angry."

Harry nodded, not wanting to shatter his friend's tiny ray of hope. If there was one thing Mrs. Weasley was famous for, other than her delicious treacle tart of course, it was her temper. He didn't think it really mattered if he was there or not. Mrs. Weasley was definitely going to be furious.

They shrunk their trunks and walked down the corridor to the train door. The platform outside was crowded. Harry couldn't remember ever seeing it so packed. Looking around he easily spotted four Aurors scanning the area. He didn't know their names but recognized them from guarding him and the Weasleys on more than one occasion.

But why were there so many people waiting for the train? Then it hit him. Dumbledore. Hearing that the greatest wizard of the century was dead, must have scared the parents. Instead of coming alone, whole families waited for the students. That also explained the extra security.

No sooner had they stepped off the platform than he heard someone shout.

"Harry!"

He turned around and saw one of the last people he expected to see fighting her way through the crowd. Finally she managed to break through but she stumbled and Harry caught her.

"Cho? What are you doing here?" Harry asked before he could stop himself. He tried to ignore the pain in her eyes that his words caused, but he couldn't. "Er. I mean, did you need something?"

She smiled standing up and brushing out her clothes. "Oh, I just wanted to say bye. You know this was my last year, right?"

"Uh, yeah. It was wasn't it?"

Cho laughed. "Look, I can tell I'm making you uncomfortable. I really needed to tell you how sorry I was about what happened between us. It's not hard to see that you and Ginny are destined to be together."

Harry smiled. He had been worried that she wanted to go out with him again. He knew he should really tell her that it was over between him and Ginny. After all it was the story he wanted to get out, but he didn't want to make the moment ever more awkward than it already was. "Ginny means a lot to me. And I guess that, well, you and I both weren't ready to go out with each other."

"No hard feelings?" said Cho holding her hand out. Harry shook it.

"Of course not." Harry started walking towards the Weasleys who stood on the far end of the platform. He motioned for Cho to follow him. "So have you decided what you're going to do now that you graduated?"

"Well actually I was kind of thinking about becoming a healer," Cho said shyly. She ducked her head, watching her feet.

"That sounds good."

Cho looked up. "Really? I know it means an extra two years of working under a fully qualified mediwizard before I can start my apprenticeship, but I think I'll like it. Professor Flitwick said that since I had good marks in Herbology, Potions, and Charms that it would be a good profession."

Harry just nodded. He really didn't see the Cho he knew being able to work under the extreme duress healers experienced. She was a little emotional and would probably start crying the second she saw someone stagger in covered in blood. But maybe the two year of studying under someone like Madam Pomfrey would harden her.

They were almost to the Weasleys when Cho stopped him by putting an arm on his shoulder. "Thanks Harry."

Confused Harry asked, "For what?"

"For being you. I may not have shown it much but I really do like you. I'm glad we can be friends," said Cho smiling sadly. She leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. "Bye, Harry."

Harry watched her merge with the crowd, wondering when she had matured so much. Then he turned around. Mr. Weasley stood with one arm around his wife while Mrs. Weasley would reach out and touch Ron every few seconds. But there was one person missing. She wasn't–

"Just what were you doing with Cho Chang, Mr. Potter?"

Startled, Harry jumped. Ginny stood behind him with her hands on her hips staring daggers at him. "Uh…I well…she–" Harry stammered. Then her lip twitched. A second after that she was laughing.

"Relax Harry, I was just kidding."

Harry felt his face reddening. He said the first thing that popped into his mind. "_Hem. Hem._ It is not wise to deal with wickedness Miss Weasley."

Ginny's eyes widened. Then she grinned. "That has got to be the worst Umbridge impersonation I've ever seen. The giant squid could do better than that."

Chuckling, Harry started to reach for her hand. He was just about to grab it when he realized what he was doing. He jerked his hand back but not before he saw the sad smile cross Ginny's face.

"Harry, I–" Ginny started, but Harry had already turned around and was walking away.

"Come on Ginny," he called over his shoulder trying to sound normal. That had been a close call. He couldn't stay around her for too long. Already he could feel his resolve crumbling. "Although you may want to wait for the fireworks to die down first."

"What does that mean?" Ginny said catching up to him. Suddenly her eyes narrowed and she looked around. "Are Fred and George planning something?"

"Not that I know of," Harry said wincing as someone knocked into his shoulder. It burned for a few seconds but not long enough for him to pay attention to it. "What I'm worried about has to do with Ron. We have something to tell your mum and I don't think she is going to like it."

It took a few minutes and a lot of shoving but they finally made it to the small section of the platform that wasn't as crowded. As soon as she saw them Mrs. Weasley pulled Harry and Ginny both into a surprisingly strong hug. Mr. Weasley patted Harry on the shoulder and nodded.

"All right there Harry?"

"I'm fine," Harry said. Then he remembered one of the last times he had talked with them. It had been in the hospital wing after the invasion of death eaters. "Is Bill doing okay?"

"He's doing pretty good, although the scratches on his face are still swollen and bleeding a little. Poppy said it would be awhile before they healed," said Mr. Weasley. When he saw that his daughter was finally free from his wife, he turned to her.

Ron slid up next to him and whispered, "Do we have to do this here? Can't we wait until we get to the Burrow?" Ron whispered hopefully.

"It can, but I'm leaving here and going straight to the Dursleys. The sooner I get there the sooner I can leave," Harry said. He noticed how nervous Ron was. "Look Ron, like I said earlier, you don't have to go with me. It's my responsibility and–"

"No, no Harry. I'm going," said Ron quickly. "I'm just not looking forward to mum's reaction when I tell her. You remember when she and Sirius were shouting at each other over what to tell us about the Order that one time?"

Harry nodded, relieved that the mention of his godfather didn't hurt as bad now as it used to. Of course he would never forget the sight of him falling through the veil. Somewhere along the way to killing Voldemort, Harry was going to make sure Bellatrix paid for that and every other vile act she committed.

Ron pulled Harry back out of his thoughts of revenge. "Well that was nothing compared to how loud she can get. The time Fred and George turned my teddy bear into a giant spider…well all I can say is that I couldn't hear anything for the rest of the day, she yelled at them so loud."

"I guess we better get it over with then," Harry said giving Ron a push towards his parents. However before he could even open his mouth, Mrs. Weasley started talking.

"Harry, dear, as soon as you're sure that the protection is in place you come straight to the Burrow. I can't stand the thought of you spending the entire summer with those people. Of course, once you come of age the protection is over but staying there until your birthday is still a tad to long. Now I–"

"Molly honey, I think Harry and Ron have something to say," Mr. Weasley interrupted his wife. He must have seen the look on his son's face and realized that the two boys needed to get something off their chest.

"Well…I'm going…you see, Harry and I are…" Ron sputtered. Harry knew his friend was drowning and was about to throw him a line and help out when someone beat him to it. As if she apparated, Hermione appeared next to him and took Ron's arm into hers.

Ron looked gratefully at her, straightened up and turned back to his parents. "Mum, Dad. I'm not going home. Harry, Hermione, and I have something to do this summer."

Ginny stared into Harry's eyes. The pain behind her gaze made him look away. Mr. Weasley was frowning and slightly shaking his head. Mrs. Weasley however was completely expressionless. Ron, deciding if he was going to wet his toes he might as well take the plunge, continued.

"Also, even if Hogwarts opens next term, we probably won't be going back. At least not until we're done."

The three teens stood together waiting for the outburst. After a few minutes with no noise but the crowd around them, Mrs. Weasley did the one thing that made Harry seriously consider leaving Ron behind. She started crying. Looking at them for a second, she turned to her husband.

"Arthur, they can't…don't let them leave me," Mrs. Weasley wailed. Mr. Weasley wrapped his arms around her, patting her back.

"Molly, dear, I think it's something they have to do. Even if we tried to stop them, we can't. Hermione and Ron are already of age and Harry has less than a couple of months to go."

Harry turned away, not wanting to the see the woman who was the closest to a mother he had ever had. Surprisingly, only a few of the people passing by glanced over, the rest hurrying on. Watching the strained parents dragging their children through the barrier, Harry vowed right then and there that he would rid the world of Voldemort. Even if it meant his own life to do so.

"But where will you be going? Is it safe there?" Mrs. Weasley asked. Harry turned back around. When he saw her face, he did something he had never done before in his life. Ignoring the shocked look from the rest of the Weasleys and Hermione, Harry stepped forward and pulled Mrs. Weasley into a hug.

"Mrs. Weasley, you and your family have done more for me in the last six years than anyone else. You never cared that I was the boy-who-lived. Never cared about the danger that came from being associated with Harry Potter. You and Mr. Weasley are the closest people to parents that I have and you'll never know how grateful I am for that," said Harry, embarrassed.

He tried to pull away from Mrs. Weasley but she wouldn't let him. She clutched at him howling. Panicking Harry turned to Mr. Weasley for help but saw that he even had a few tears on his face. Thinking that he shouldn't have said that, Harry stammered, "I'm sorry."

"Sorry? For what dear?" Mrs. Weasley asked finally pulling away. She was smiling but he noticed it didn't reach her eyes. "I'm the one who should be apologizing. Hearing what you said made me a little emotional."

Harry looked up. "So, you're not mad?"

Both of the Weasley parents looked shocked but it was Mrs. Weasley who answered. "Mad? Harry, dear, if I was mad about anything it would be that you had to ask that question. Arthur and I have considered you a son for awhile now. Whenever anyone asks us how many children we have, we started answering with eight. Seven redheads and one with black hair."

His face flaming red, Harry managed to mutter thanks before being pulled into another hug, by both Mr. and Mrs. Weasley. When he let go and stepped back beside his friends he noticed that Hermione had tears streaking down her face and that Ron was smiling. Feeling better, Harry found Ginny's gaze. Her eyes were also wet and she looked like she was struggling. For what, he never found out because Mrs. Weasley still wasn't entirely convinced about them leaving on their own.

"Well?" she asked her hands on her hips. "I still want a few answers before I let my son run off to, Merlin knows where, with his two best friends. One who happens to be a girl."

"Really mum? You're going to let me go?" Ron asked hopefully. "You're not going to scream at all?"

Mrs. Weasley put her arms on Ron's shoulders, her face serious. "Ron, like you father said, you're already of age. Sometimes it's hard for me to realize that because I still see you as my youngest boy.

"When your father and I heard about you going after the Sorcerer's Stone with Hermione and Harry, it never sunk in what you lot accomplished that night. But when you brought back Ginny that night during your second year, bruised and covered with filth, was when we realized that you would stick by Harry's side when the time came."

Ginny's face paled when Mrs. Weasley mentioned the nightmare that had been the Chamber of Secrets. Harry wanted so badly do reach out and hold her but knew that he didn't dare. Once she was in his arms, the quest for the horcruxes would be over before it even began because he knew he wouldn't be able to leave her behind then. And he knew for certain that he didn't want her with them when they finally went after them. It was definitely too dangerous. Wishing that the monster in his chest would quit hurting so much Harry turned back to listen to Mrs. Weasley.

"…and now seeing you stand here, I can see how much you matured this past couple of years. That, combined with the fact that you three managed to fight twelve death eaters at the ministry and then hold you own against another group at Hogwarts, a week ago, is enough to prove that you can protect yourselves."

Finished, Mrs. Weasley stepped back. Once again, Mr. Weasley wrapped his arm around her while Ginny stood by them somehow looking miserable and beautiful at the same time. Then, for the third time, Mrs. Weasley repeated that she wanted to know where they were going.

Harry, after glancing at Ron and Hermione who nodded, answered. "We're going to stay with the Dursleys. Dumbledore wanted me to go back one last time. As soon as the blood protection has taken effect, probably two weeks or so, we were thinking about coming to the Burrow and waiting for the wedding. If that's alright?"

"Of course, dear, we'll be glad to have you," Mrs. Weasley said smiling, seemingly pleased with that answer but with a strange glint in her eye. Harry, who had become well accustomed to seeing that same glint in Ginny's eyes, knew what it meant. Mrs. Weasley was thinking that she would get a better answer sometime before the wedding. Harry decided to wait and deal with that when the time came.

"When I get to work tomorrow, I'll file the forms indicating that an adult wizard and witch are staying with you. That way you shouldn't get in trouble for underage magic," Mr. Weasley said. Harry was glad that his friend's dad had remembered. Another run in with the Minister of Magic was the last thing he wanted. He quickly thanked Mr. Weasley.

They stood on the side of the platform for another few minutes talking, while the crowd thinned out. Mr. Weasley pointed out that since it was already so late that they should get a couple of rooms at the Leaky Cauldron so they wouldn't bother the Dursleys by showing up in the middle of the night. Harry agreed, although he knew that his aunt and uncle would be furious upon seeing them no matter what time of day it was.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione said their goodbyes to everyone and watched as the Weasleys disappeared through the gateway. They stood in silence for a minute. Ron was the first to speak.

"Well that went better than I expected." Harry and Hermione both agreed. Then Ron turned to Harry. "Thanks, mate. I never would have thought of doing that."

"No problem, but what did I do?"

Ron looked as if Harry had gone crazy. "Well, for starters, how about getting Mum to see that I'm not a kid anymore. To think, all those times that she's gone mental on me I could have stopped it by telling her how I felt about her. But seriously Harry, that was bloody brilliant how you distracted her."

"Ronald Weasley!" Hermione screamed, aghast. "Do you honestly think that Harry opened up to your parents like that so your mum wouldn't get mad?"

All of the blood drained out of Ron's face when he realized that he had said the wrong thing. He almost flinched when he saw how angry Hermione was. Then to Harry's astonishment, instead of trying to apologize to Hermione, Ron opened his mouth even wider and stuck his other foot in.

"What? It worked, didn't it?"

Trying not to laugh, Harry walked to the barrier and walked through. Outside King's Cross Station, he thought about calling The Knight Bus, but immediately dismissed that idea. He didn't feel up to the fast, dizzying ride. Luckily, between him and Hermione, they had enough muggle money for a cab.

All the way to the Leaky Cauldron, Ron and Hermione bickered with each other in the back seat. At one point Harry caught the driver's eyes in the rear-view mirror and received a sympathetic nod. Finally they arrived at the wizard tavern and were relieved when Tom told them that he had a couple of rooms available. The only problem was when the barman flat out refused to charge Harry the full amount for the two rooms. After a few minutes of haggling, Harry finally got Tom to settle on him paying at least half price for each room.

After receiving the keys, Harry started climbing the stairs. All the way to the rooms, Ron and Hermione argued. He ignored them, only pausing long enough to give Hermione her key and say good night. He opened his and Ron's room, then tossed the key over his shoulder to Ron who was still disagreeing with the smartest witch of their age. Harry headed straight for the bed.

The last thing that went through his head before he fell asleep was the list of horcruxes he had to find and destroy.

_...the locket…the cup…something of Gryffindor's or Ravenclaw's…the snake…Voldemort himself._


	2. Candy, Jewelry, and Petunia

_Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or anything related to his world. It all belongs to J.K. Rowling and I'm just borrowing her characters for some fun. I forgot to put a disclaimer on the first chapter, so here it is._

**Chapter 2 – Candy, Jewelry, and Petunia**

Number four Privet Drive looked almost peaceful as Harry stepped out of the Knight's Bus, staggering a little after the dizzying ride. As soon as Ron and Hermione joined him on the sidewalk the bus disappeared with a muffled pop off, to pick up its next victim. One good thing about the return trip to his "summer home" was that Ron and Hermione had either forgotten about their arguments from the the night before or they chose to ignore it, because they were being nice to each other once again. Thinking about them, Harry turned to his friends to see what they thought of the house he grew up in.

Hermione was looking through the small bag she carried across one shoulder, muttering something about crazy methods of transportation while Ron seemed fascinated with the mail box. He kept opening and closing it until he gave a little yelp and jumped back a foot from it.

"Bloody hell, Harry! This thing almost bit my hand off," Ron said. He reached into his pocket for his wand. He almost pulled it out but seemed to think better about it and put it back in. Instead he settled on glaring at the mailbox.

Harry tried not to laugh while Hermione scolded Ron for his language. He turned back to the house and caught the curtain of the living room window fall back into place. For the past five summers the sight of the Dursley's house filled him with dread but not today. The thought of staying with the Dursleys for three weeks didn't bother him. The main reason was that his two best friends would be with him. Between the three of them they would manage to find something to do that would make the days fly by.

Taking a second to let Hermione finish babying Ron over his finger, Harry took a deep breath then glanced over his shoulder with a smile on his face. "Come on guys. Let's go see how red my uncle's face can get."

Hermione opened her mouth and then shut it, choosing to nod instead.

Harry walked up to the walkway to the house. Before he even raised his hand, to knock, the door swung open.

"Hello Aunt Petunia," Harry said. He paused expecting her to hiss something about why he was home early or why he had two extra freaks with him. But she just gave a slight nod and stepped back to let them in. As soon as the three of them were inside she shut the door, locked it, then marched into the kitchen.

Glancing at Ron and Hermione, who both shrugged, Harry followed her. She pointed at the table for them to sit. While they seated themselves his aunt filled a pot with water then put it on the stove. Without a word she left the kitchen.

"Talkative woman, that one," Ron said jerking his head at the door. He pulled a chocolate frog out of his pocket. He offered one to Harry and Hermione, who both declined.

"She is acting a bit strange," Harry agreed. "I thought for sure she would yell something about what the neighbors would think when she opened the door."

"It's quite obvious," said Hermione. She pulled out a quill and some parchment. "Something bad happened and from the way she's acting it must have been recently. And most likely it has something to do with you, Harry."

Harry started to ask what he could possibly have done, but stopped when Aunt Petunia came striding back into the room. She tossed a large envelope in front of Harry then went to the cupboard and pulled out a canister full of tea bags. She stood at the sink with her back to them, waiting on the water to boil.

"Go on then. Open it," said Ron and Hermione.

Glancing at his aunt's back Harry pulled the envelope to him. Written on the outside in familiar handwriting was simply Petunia Evans-Dursley. Startled to see his mother's maiden name included, Harry fumbled with the string tying it closed. When he finally managed to get his fingers to cooperate he dumped the contents out unto the table.

Harry barely heard Ron curse and Hermione gasp. Shocked at what was lying on the table in front of him, Harry saw his hand reach out. He tried to pull it back but it felt as if he stood on the sidelines watching his own body unable to control it. Luckily Hermione quickly figured out what was happening and managed to jerk his hand away.

"Harry, listen to me. You have to fight it," Hermione said with a tinge of panic in her voice. Even with her holding his arm, he still wanted to hold it. Only when he felt Ron grasp his other hand did he realize he had been reaching for the object again.

"Ginny! Think of Ginny, Harry," Hermione screamed.

The second he heard her name, Harry's mind opened to the picture of Ginny jumping into his arms and kissing him right after they won the last Quidditch game. Then to his complete astonishment he heard Snape's voice.

_Clear your mind Potter!_

Harry pushed all his thoughts away. He tried to visualize a wall to keep them behind and managed to do it until he tried to budge his memories of Ginny behind it. As much as he tried he just couldn't get the beauty of her red hair, fiery smile, or almond eyes out of his mind. The harder he pushed the stronger the vision of her face became. Only when he could see every last one of the freckles sprayed across her nose and cheeks did he realize he didn't want to touch the cursed piece of metal lying on the table.

"It's alright 'Mione…Ron," said Harry gasping. His whole body ached, feeling the same way after exercising for an hour. Hermione hesitantly let go but not before staring into his eyes. Ron was even more reluctant to let go. "I'm fine mate, really."

Harry thought for a minute that Ron was not going to trust him enough to let go but then at the sound of someone screaming he dropped Harry's arm and whirled around. Ron's chocolate frog, left on the table forgotten once the envelope had been opened, had jumped off the table and unto Aunt Petunia's dress. In short, what followed was a mild form of chaos.

Aunt Petunia was shrieking, running around the kitchen seeming to think that if she went fast enough the small chocolate frog would fall off and then she wouldn't have to touch the freakish thing. Hermione was following her trying to help. The two ran around the table a couple of times before Hermione tripped over one of the overturned chairs. Ron rushed to her side and helped her up while Harry could only watch the scene and fight the urge to burst out laughing.

A few seconds later the charms that animated the frog wore off and it fell to the floor. Red faced and taking short ragged breaths, Aunt Petunia raised her foot and stomped on it until all that was left was a smear of chocolate on the otherwise perfectly clean floor. Harry started picking up the chairs, while waiting for the explosion from Aunt Petunia. But surprisingly he had straightened all of the chairs, sat back down and she had still not said a word. When he looked up, she was staring at the chocolate stain on the linoleum with a vacant expression.

It was Hermione who interrupted the awkward silence. "Mrs. Dursley? Where do you keep the mop and bucket?"

Ron looked like he was about to voice the question that Harry himself wanted to know the answer to. Why didn't Hermione just use her wand instead of cleaning up the mess the muggle way? But with a warning glance from Hermione, Ron closed his mouth without saying a word.

Aunt Petunia muttered something so quietly that Harry had trouble hearing across the kitchen but Hermione just nodded and asked where the cupboard was. When his aunt whispered that it was under the stairs, Hermione left the kitchen. The second the swinging door shut behind her was when Harry remembered what else was in the cupboard under the stairs. He jumped up and ran back into the front hall to stop Hermione but it was already too late.

She stood in the doorway gaping at both the small cot inside the cramped room and the locks on the small door. She glanced at Harry with a questioning look but he just shrugged and quickly retreated back into the kitchen.

"Something wrong mate?" asked Ron who kept throwing suspicious glances at Aunt Petunia's back while she stood at the sink, staring out the small window above it. "You bolted from the room after Hermione and now you come back looking like you just fought off a dementor."

"Er, I..." Harry hesitated a second before quickly coming up with an excuse. "I tried to tell Hermione that I would clean it up. You know...since it's my Aunt and Uncle's house."

To his own ears it sounded like a load of hippogriff crap but Ron seemed to buy it and nodded. A few seconds later Hermione walked into the kitchen carrying the mop and bucket and proceeded to clean up the mess. Harry caught her staring at him with a thoughtful gaze but chose to ignore it. In no time at all, Hermione had cleaned up the chocolate, returned the cleaning supplies to the cupboard and was sitting back down at the kitchen table.

The three of them sat staring at the objects on the table; the only noise in the kitchen was the sound of the clock. Finally Hermione leaned over and pulled a handkerchief out of her bag. She handed it to Harry who took it and started reaching for the middle of the table. Making sure not to let any part of his hand touch the metal Harry lifted the object then practically threw it back on the table when a loud screech filled the small kitchen.

All three of the teens jumped, pulling out their wands and looking around. Oddly, it seemed, Aunt Petunia hadn't even blinked. Only when she walked to the stove and picked it up did Harry realize that the teapot had made the noise. Harry looked back at his friends. He started to say something about constant vigilance but he burst out laughing instead.

Hermione smiled, rolling her eyes, when Ron muttered, "Barking mental, he is."

Aunt Petunia waited until Harry stopped laughing and was gasping for breath again, before she poured four cups of tea and put them on the table. The sight of the four of them drinking tea around a table that held a piece of Voldemort's soul was enough to send him off again.

"Oh, for Merlin's sake Harry!" said Hermione glaring at him. "You could at least try to be serious for a minute. Honestly, if I didn't know better I would think you didn't care that there's a Horcrux right in front of you."

"Sorry," Harry said wiping tears off his face. Smiling he turned to his Aunt. "Care to explain how you managed to get a piece of Voldemort's soul?" Instead of answering she pointed to the thick roll of parchment that had fallen out along with the locket and a smaller roll of parchment that was still sealed. Harry was about to reach for it when the front door opened and slammed shut.

"Petunia!" It was Harry's uncle, Vernon Dursley. Harry and Aunt Petunia both glanced at the clock hanging on the kitchen wall. It was only a quarter past three and his uncle wasn't supposed to get home from work until six.

Glancing at the three teens, Aunt Petunia hurried out of the kitchen to greet her husband. Ron started to ask something but Hermione hushed him. She had her head cocked in the direction of the living room. Harry was a little shocked by her. Sure Hermione had changed from the girl who thought death was better than being expelled. But to see her so calmly eavesdropping was surprising. Ron must have thought the same because he was giving her a weird look.

"Ah, Petunia there you are," said Uncle Vernon. They heard a door open as he hung up his suit and tie. "We're having guests for dinner tonight so we don't have much time to prepare. Where's Dudley?"

"He went out with that O'Neil girl," said Aunt Petunia.

Harry wondered what his cousin was doing home from school already. Surely he hadn't been expelled. After all, without Harry there to take the blame Dudley must have known when to behave.

"Great. I heard her father owns a profitable chain of restaurants in the States. A girl like her would do Dudley some good." Even in the kitchen Harry could hear the couch groan as his uncle sat down. "Ever since that ruddy headmaster of his accused him of bullying the other students and sent Dudley home, he hasn't been the same. Don't blame him a bit. If I had been falsely accused of such rubbish, I'd feel the same."

"Our sweet little boy isn't capable of violence," said Aunt Petunia. There was a clinking of glass. She was pouring a Brandy for his uncle, Harry knew. Every day Uncle Dursley got home from work he had one.

"Too right, you are. Anyhow like I said, we are going to have two very important guests tonight. You remember the Masons? It took awhile but I've finally managed to convince them to come back. Had to promise that there would be no pudding disasters in the kitchen and no birds flying through the windows. That shouldn't be a problem. Since that bloody boy isn't due back for another two weeks…something wrong Petunia?"

Harry glanced at Ron and Hermione. At that moment he wished they weren't there with him. He knew his uncle was about to start screaming and he didn't want his two friends to hear. He quickly thought of how to get them out before his uncle stormed into the kitchen but knew it was too late when he heard his aunt start speaking.

"Actually Vernon dear, he's already here," she said.

"Already? Well, we need to be going. We only have a couple of hours left until the Masons arrive and I need to take him and get a new suit."

Harry nearly fell out of his chair. Something was wrong. Maybe a death eater had put his uncle under the Imperius Curse. But weren't the Dursleys supposed to be protected by the blood magic also? However Aunt Petunia quickly cleared the confusion.

"Not Dudley…_him_."

There was a few seconds of silence and Harry waited. Sure enough as soon as his uncle figured out what Aunt Petunia meant it started. "WHAT? THE RUDDY LITTLE FREAK IS NOT SUPPOSED TO BE HERE FOR TWO MORE WEEKS! WHERE IS HE?"

"Kitchen," said Aunt Petunia. Harry barely heard her, she said it so quietly. He turned to Ron and Hermione and pleaded to them with his eyes for them to leave. They shouldn't see what was about to happen but neither of them moved. Hermione shook her head and stood up glancing defiantly at the door to the living room. Ron, also, stood but he wrapped a hand around his wand. A second later the door swung open so hard it banged against the wall and slammed shut again.

There was a muffled curse from the other side of the door. Knowing he shouldn't, but not able to stop it, Harry started to snicker. When his uncle stomped into the kitchen his face purple with anger and his hand holding his nose, the snickers turned to laughter. Hermione glanced over with a look that clearly said "_Are you sure laughing is the best thing to do right now?_"

But he could see that she had a small grin. Ron even thought the whole thing was funny and was trying hard to not laugh himself. Uncle Vernon, however, was furious.

"Think that's funny do you?" his uncle snarled stepping toward him.

Harry was about to answer but Hermione stepped forward with her arm held out. "Good afternoon Mr. Dursley. I don't know if you remember but my name's Hermione Granger. I went to school with your nephew and–"

Uncle Vernon whirled on her. "You! Oh I remember you. Coming out on the platform with the rest of the brats. The whole bloody lot of you are freaks. Now I'm only going to say this once you little tramp. You have one minute…"

What Hermione had one minute to do, Harry never found out. One second Uncle Vernon was advancing on Hermione poking her with one of his fingers and then he was backing away, fear in his eyes. Aunt Petunia yelped but stood where she was. It took Harry a second to see Ron holding his wand at Uncle Vernon's throat.

"DON'T YOU EVER SPEAK TO HER LIKE…THAT…AGAIN!" Ron roared, his face the darkest red Harry had ever seen it get. The anger in his friend's eyes was frightening. He would have rather faced Voldemort in a duel again rather than be on the business end of his friend's wand at that moment.

Uncle Vernon, his eyes bulging the size of galleons, whimpered. When his back hit the wall and Ron raised his wand, the massive man cringed. Luckily Hermione had enough sense to grab Ron's hand before he had a chance to hex Uncle Vernon into a million pieces.

"Ron! It's okay," said Hermione. "Put you wand away. He's not worth spending the whole day answering questions from the ministry is he?"

Ron glared at the man against the wall, then he hesitantly lowered his wand. "I guess you're right 'Mione."

It was all Uncle Vernon needed to hear. He stood straight trying to look intimidating but failing miserably. "I knew it! None of you are allowed to do magic. We wouldn't want to be expelled would we?" said Uncle Vernon grinning madly. "Now get out of my house. The whole blasted lot of you."

"No Uncle Vernon. We're not going anywhere," said Harry standing up. "But you are right about one thing. I'm not allowed to do magic for another month." Harry held out his hand when Uncle Vernon opened his mouth. "But Ron and Hermione are of age. I'm sure what Hermione meant was that she didn't want to waste her time explaining why Ron turned you into a pig."

Harry turned around and, still using Hermione's handkerchief, scooped the contents on the table back into the envelope. His questions for Aunt Petunia would have to wait until later. All he wanted at that moment was to get away from his uncle. The screaming was giving him a headache. He paused at the door.

"Oh, by the way. Ron and Hermione are staying with me for a couple of weeks. Don't worry about food. We'll get our own," Harry said and left the kitchen. He paused long enough to hear Hermione try to calm the waters.

"Now Mr. Dursley, I'm sure we can act like grownups toward each other. I understand how you feel about us barging in like this. It's only reasonable to be a little put off by it but–"

Ron interrupted her. "A little put off, Hermione? The prat charged in here cursing, ready to throw us out."

Harry smiled shaking his head. He was beginning to doubt Ron would ever learn when to keep his mouth shut. Harry left the door and climbed the stairs. If Fred and George had been there he would have been willing to bet a hundred galleons that Hermione was going to give Ron a lecture. Sure enough when he heard them climbing the stairs a few minutes later, Hermione was leaning into him.

"Honestly Ron. Would it hurt you to be polite? They're Harry's family, like it or not, and we _are_ staying in their house."

Ron snorted. "Family? You had better not let mum hear you say that or she'll have you de-gnoming the garden for a year. As far as her and dad are concerned, Harry's a Weasley."

"That's obvious Ronald," said Hermione. "I only meant that we do have to stay here for awhile and it's best not to provoke them. Now be quiet or Harry will hear us."

A minute later the door to his room opened. Harry tried to act like he just hadn't heard his best mate practically call him a brother. He sat on this bed, the envelope with the locket and parchment next to him.

Ron barely glanced around, already having seen the room when he helped break Harry out of it and the beginning of second year. He walked over to the small desk in the corner, and brushed off the small pile of Dudley's old things. He sat down on it, pulled out their shrunken luggage and started returning the trunks to normal size.

Hermione however shook her head when she saw that half the room was filled with broken toys. "A bit small in here isn't it? Do you mind?" Hermione asked pulling out her wand. When Harry shook his head she waved it at Dudley's old things and they vanished.

"That's a little better but it is too small for three people in here so we'll just have to expand it. And then we…are those bars on your window Harry?" Hermione's eyes narrowed. Apparently, none of the Weasleys had ever mentioned to her about the incident before second year when the three youngest sons had broke him out.

"Yeah," Harry said then quickly changed the subject. "Do you know how to expand the room? Isn't that a rather complicated spell?"

Just like he knew it would, that caught Hermione's attention. She stared at the window a second longer then turned to him. "Well it _is_ Newt level but Professor McGonagall taught it to me so I could fit more books into my bag. But it is a little draining for doing big things like a room."

Harry shook his head. "Teach it to me then. It's my room so I should be the one to do it."

"Don't be silly Harry. By the time I teach you, we'll both be too tired to cast it. Besides the exhaustion only lasts a couple of hours," said Hermione studying the walls. And then before Harry could say anything she waved her wand in a pattern that resembled the infinity signal and muttered, "_Impendo Terminus!_"

As Hermione concentrated and kept waving her wand, the walls began to tremble. Then as if made of silly putty they started to stretch. A light pop preceded a large sun window replacing the small barred one next to his bed.

Harry heard someone cry out. Ron had jumped to his feet and was jerking his head around. He had been so absorbed in expanding the trunks that he must have not heard Hermione and Harry talking about making the room bigger. But what made the sight of his best mate even funnier for Harry was the fact that Ron was now at least twenty feet away.

Finally the walls started to slow as Hermione sank to her knees her wand shaking. Harry rushed forward and barely made it to her before Ron even though he was closer. But she waved them away. Then surprising both of them, she traced a line through the air with her wand and a new wall started growing from the floor separating them from the side of the room that Ron had just vacated. Only when it connected to the ceiling did she collapse in Ron's arms.

"You alright?" Harry asked as Ron wrapped her in his arms and pulled her to his chest. At first she looked surprised to be hugged so tightly but then Harry would have sworn he saw a smile flicker across her lips.

"…yeah…need to…catch my breath," Hermione gasped.

Satisfied that Hermione was going to be okay, Harry stood up and surveyed his new room, or rather _rooms_. His old room barely big enough to fit his bed, a tiny desk, and the remnants of his cousins toys, was now about half the size of the Gryffindor common room. And if he guessed right the room on the other side of the wall had to be as big as the boy's dorm, if not bigger.

"Wow. You really did a great job Hermione," Harry said grinning. He turned around to see Ron helping Hermione into a stuffed chair that he must have conjured for her. Watching the gentle way he sat her down, Harry knew it wouldn't be long before the two confessed their love for each other. For an intelligent witch always going around spouting that everything was obvious, Hermione sure seemed to miss the fact that if it came to it, Ron would give his life for her. As for Ron, well he always did have the knack for ignoring what was right in front of his face.

Seeing his two friends acting so gingerly together made Harry miss Ginny a little worse. He wanted so badly to apparate to the Burrow pull her into his arms and snog her senseless, regardless of who was watching. Even if all of her brothers were in the room Harry knew it wouldn't stop him. But until he put an end to Voldemort, Harry couldn't put Ginny into such a dangerous position. If Voldemort so much as got a hint of what she meant to Harry, he would…no there was no point in thinking like that. Harry would never let anything happen to her.

Trying to ignore the ache in his chest, Harry walked to over to his bed. He dumped the envelope on his bed and picked up the roll of parchment, the larger of the two and the one already opened. He could see where there had once been a magical seal on it but it looked like it had been broken a while ago. Looking down to make sure he didn't touch the locket Harry sat down on the bed and unrolled the letter.

_Ah Petunia. I find myself once more corresponding with you by means of the written word. _

_Firstly I ask that you not wear the necklace that was sent with this letter. I am not sure what would befall a muggle but it's best not to find out the hard way. After reading my last letter you know what it is and what it could possibly do to the unwary. _

_As for the roll of parchment, it is to be given to Harry along with the necklace. He shall know what to do with both. Both scrolls have been magically sealed so only the intended recipient can open them, so do not bother taking upon yourself the task of trying to read his letter._

_And second and lastly; it is not my place to say but I shall act as the voice for those no longer able. When I placed Harry in you care years ago, I knew you wouldn't care for him as much as your own son. But the way your family treated him, no better than a slave, was a horrendous act. It is with deep regret that I inform you of the disappointment you brought to the Evans namesake by treating Harry so poorly. _

_But alas, it is never too late for forgiveness. The gap in Harry's and your relationship may well be wide but I believe in time he would forgive you. I urge you to take the time to start the bridge between the two of you. _

_Goodbye Petunia. This shall truly be the last time I talk with you–_

_Albus Dumbledore _

Harry scowled and threw the letter on the bed. There was no chance of mending his relationship with his last blood relative. He was more likely to see Voldemort prancing down Diagon Alley in a teddy bear costume than to see the day that Petunia Dursley apologized to him.

The letter did answer the question of how Aunt Petunia managed to shock him with the locket but it brought on a flood of others. Of all people why did Dumbledore send a piece of Voldemort's soul to a woman who thought anything to do with wizardry was freakish? And why didn't the headmaster tell him, Harry, that he had found the third horcrux already? Sure, Dumbledore never knew that the horcrux in the cave was the locket, or rather the fake one, but surely he should have thought it important to mention that there was one less piece of soul to find.

Harry decided to open his letter from Dumbledore. Maybe it explained why Dumbledore was so mysterious with the locket. But when he picked the letter up to open it he could not find a break in the parchment to unroll it. He was getting ready to just rip it open when words appeared in bright gold ink.

_This seal shall hold unbroken until the eve of Harry James Potter seventeenth year. _

Once again the headmaster of Hogwarts was pulling an invisible string in his life, but this time Harry didn't care. It might have been the fact that the man was now gone, and Harry would never again be able to turn to him for advice. But the only thing that mattered now was that he would be waiting more than a month for some answers.

Harry carefully put the unopened scroll of parchment and the locket back in the envelope leaving Aunt Petunia's letter out so Ron and Hermione could read it later. Laying the envelope on the bed Harry joined his friends. Ron glanced up when he stopped by the chair but Hermione was sleeping.

"Game of chess?" Ron asked hopefully. It wasn't hard for Harry to see that he was looking for a distraction until Hermione woke up.

"Sure," Harry said. He conjured a small table and two chairs while Ron fetched the chess set out of his trunk. While he was gone Harry studied his new table. Other than a few scratches and for the fact that one of the legs was slightly shorter than the rest, it looked pretty good. He was getting better, still nowhere near as good as Hermione, but better than the beginning of the year.

Ron returned a minute later and started setting up the chessmen. "I still can't believe Hermione made the room so big by herself. Maybe we _should_ have listened a little more in class."

Harry snorted, then said, "And we could both memorize _Hogwarts, A History."_

They both looked at Hermione when she moaned and muttered something that sounded suspiciously like, "…finally."

Harry looked at Ron, speechless for a second. Then they both burst out laughing. And to prove that the day had been better than he had expected it to, Harry came close to beating Ron. The redhead managed to lay a few traps and Harry finally had to resign but not before he noticed that Ron was sweating.

"Another game Ron?" Harry asked, smiling.

"Uh…maybe later," Ron answered. He quickly started shoving the pieces back into their boxes, causing a few of them to yell but he ignored them. "Hermione wanted us to start working on making this place livable for the next couple of weeks."


	3. Dances with Werewolves

**Chapter 3 – Dances with Werewolves**

When Hermione recovered from the enlargement spell, it was almost dark outside so the three of them began to furnish the room. While Hermione was conjuring three new beds, which looked nearly identical to the ones at Hogwarts, Harry and Ron tried to conjure some furniture. But they only managed to create a couple of chairs and a couch that looked like it might be better suited at Professor McGonagall's house. The only time he had ever seen his transfiguration teacher conjure furniture it all had looked and felt extremely uncomfortable, nowhere near the quality of Professor Dumbledore's soft chairs.

Luckily, after finishing with the beds Hermione had come along and fixed everything. "Why don't you two figure out what we're going to do for food tomorrow while I finish this?"

Ron and Harry had quickly agreed. Right before they started conjuring the furniture the three had dined on a selection of sweets from the trolley on the Hogwarts Express. Of course it wasn't exactly nutritious and it had taken a lot of urging from both boys to get Hermione to eat. But it was extremely better than the alternative, which was going downstairs.

"I don't care if we have to eat owl droppings, we're not going to ask Aunt Petunia or Uncle Dursley for food," Harry said half joking.

Ron agreed, although he looked sick at the mention of owl dung. Or maybe it was the thought of missing a meal, Harry couldn't tell which. Ron thought for a minute then looked up. "How about a trip to Diagon Alley? One stop at Madam Trawley's market and we'll have anything we could want."

Harry shook his head. "Nah. I don't want to take the risk if we don't have to. All it would take is for one person to recognize me."

"Well, me and Hermione could go by ourselves." Ron paused, his face turning red. He muttered something and Harry had to ask him to repeat himself before he caught on. "Do you have some Galleons on you? I would pay but all I have are a few Sickles."

Finally understanding what Ron had said, Harry pulled out his money pouch and poured out the coins. He thought about pointing out that Ron needed to get over his embarrassment of him paying for everything. Harry figured it was going to take a decent chunk of the fortune in his vault during the next year while they searched for Voldemort's horcruxes. Deciding to leave Ron alone for now, Harry quickly counted his money then held the coins out.

"Nineteen Galleons and twelve Sickles enough?"

Ron nodded and pocketed the coins. They stood chatting about the upcoming season for the Cannons while waiting for Hermione to finish placing a cold holding charm on the small cupboard she had transfigured from Harry's small closet. Hermione quickly agreed that it was a good idea for her and Ron to go by themselves and for Harry to stay put.

They spent the rest of the night talking about what they planned on doing after Bill and Fleur's wedding and the locations of the other horcruxes. Hermione wanted to make a quick stop at Hogwarts the next day and grab some more books from the library, saying she could have easily missed something important. Harry figured it was a good idea. After all, it had always been Hermione's researching skills and patience that had saved them before. If anyone could find a few answers, most likely it would be her.

Everything went fine until the three decided to head to bed. Both Harry and Hermione had walked into the smaller room that she had made and were getting ready to get into bed but Ron was frozen at the door.

"Hermione, you're...uh...you're not sleeping in here are you?" asked Ron looking anxious.

"Yes Ron, I plan on it."

"B-but you're a girl!" Ron sputtered. Once again Harry wondered how easily it was for Ron to say the wrong things at the wrong time. He could see where Ron was coming from, but all of them were basically adults now.

"And why exactly does that bother you Ronald Weasley?" said Hermione harshly, with her hands on her hips looking eerily like Mrs. Weasley. Ron must have thought the same, for he didn't answer.

Once again, Harry went asleep with an icy air between his best friends. After spending a night without any dreams, other than one about Ginny which he didn't even want to think about with her brother in the room, he awoke early and waited for Ron and Hermione to get up. Just like the day before, both of his friends were perfectly civil to each other again.

Harry walked them through the empty house, early that morning. Uncle Vernon was at work and Dudley was with his gang of friends, no doubt waiting for an unlucky kid to beat on. He didn't know where Aunt Petunia was and didn't really care. Harry knew that before long he would have to sit down and have a talk with her but he was dreading it. Being in the house alone with her would have been the perfect time for them to chat so he was grateful that she was out.

Standing at the back door, he watched as his friends stopped a few steps from the patio. Hermione grabbed Ron's arm and they both disappeared, but not before Harry saw Ron scowl. Apparently his best mate didn't like needing Hermione's help in Apparition and Harry couldn't blame him, really. Ron had only left _half _an eyebrow behind during his Apparition test, after all.

Five minutes later he was back in his room, pacing and feeling restless. Sure they already had one of the missing horcruxes but they hadn't done anything to find it. Now that they did have it, none of them could figure out how to destroy the cursed thing. Harry knew that the only place they would find mention of a Horcrux would be in a dark magic book.

Even the restricted section at Hogwarts hadn't turned up anything. Hermione herself went through the books during the last term and found not one mention of the creation, much less destruction, of the dark objects. Truth be told, he really didn't think that there would be something that dark in the Hogwarts library. However, like Hermione had said the night before, they could come across something that could lead them to the identification of a horcrux or maybe even the location of one.

But since Tom Riddle had to ask a teacher about them, it basically proved that they would need some darker books. Borgin and Burkes, which sold a wide variety of dark items, might accidentally have a few books but Harry doubted it. If only they could walk into a Death Eater's house and visit his library. There was bound to be–

Harry stopped as the answer hit him. _Grimmauld Place!_ Why bother with a lousy Death Eater's library when he owned one himself. In fact it held the collections of generations of a dark family. The Blacks had been dark supporters just like the Malfoys, so Harry thought his chances were pretty good at finding information there.

After he hastily wrote a letter to Ron and Hermione explaining where he was and to meet him there when they got back, Harry hurried down the stairs and out the door to the back garden. Upstairs he had decided to Apparate but now that he was in the back garden he hesitated. He knew he could do it, as he had been forced to double Apparate Dumbledore and himself just a week ago. But did the Ministry detect it the same way they did underage magic?

Surely they couldn't tell when an unlicensed person Apparated. That would mean they would have to keep track of thousands of wizards and witches, which seemed unlikely. Harry decided to test his luck. He turned, concentrating on the three D's.

_Destination. Determination. Deliberation._

He felt the familiar squeezing sensation and then he was breathing again. It had worked. Harry looked around and sure enough, he was standing behind the hedges at number twelve, Grimmauld Place. He crossed the yard and stopped at the front door. Every time an Order member had arrived they had either knocked or rung the door bell, but Harry didn't feel like listening to Mrs. Black screaming about filthy blood traitors, so he grabbed the door knob.

The second his hand touched the metal, a warm feeling crawled up his fingers and soon spread across his whole body. He looked up and noticed a white light outlining the door. It was strangely pulsing and it took Harry a second to figure out it was in sync with his heartbeat. He hadn't been planning on saying anything but Harry felt his mouth open anyway and was a little shocked to hear himself speaking.

"_I, Harry James Potter, do hereby claim what is rightfully mine. I accept ownership of Number Twelve Grimmauld Place."_

Then the light and warm sensation disappeared as fast as it had come. Once again, Harry was holding a cold doorknob. Feeling disturbed by what had just happened, Harry opened the door and stepped inside. He definitely had to ask Hermione about that later on, figuring she would be pleased to tell him all about wizarding legalities.

Harry paused, thinking about calling out. Then he saw the curtained portrait hanging on the wall a few feet away. It didn't seem logical to go through the trouble of not ringing the door bell to just wake the old hag up by shouting. So he crept by Mrs. Black.

He decided to check the kitchen first. When he had stayed there before his fifth year, it had been the center of activity. But when he entered, it was deserted. The table looked like it hadn't been used in months. Harry knew he didn't want to be within shouting distance if Mrs. Weasley saw the layer of dust covering it.

Halfway back to the stairs Harry heard something coming from the room Professor Lupin had been using. Deciding to see what had made the noise, Harry turned the corner and stopped dead in his tracks. The door to the room was open. It was only then that he heard them talking.

"Come on Remus, stop. You know they'll be here any minute," Tonks said laughing.

"That may very well be true, but until they do arrive allow me to escort you to a dance m'lady," said Lupin. Then ignoring her cries he grabbed her arms and started spinning her around the room.

Harry was frozen. Not only had he ever heard Professor Lupin talk in such a way but he also had never seen him acting so...well so happy and energetic. Smiling slightly, Harry tried to figure out what to do. He didn't want to walk forward and embarrass his old professor and he was afraid that if he tried to sneak back around the corner one of them would sense the movement and see him. The decision was made for him a second later however.

Twirling around the room to an imaginary waltz, Lupin and Tonks ended up in front the fire place when it happened. Lupin had just lowered her into a dip and was bringing her back up when Tonks tripped. She fell backwards waving her arms. Unfortunately she still had her hands locked with Lupin's and when she fell she took him with her.

If it had stopped there it wouldn't have been so funny but Tonks ended up making it worse by rolling backwards. It all happened in the space of two seconds and it was hard for Harry to see what happened exactly. It took him a second to remember where he had seen something similar but then it hit him. One of Dudley's old shows about martial arts. Tonks had performed the flipping maneuver where the opponent is flipped over the defender's head. So, although Tonks had been the one who tripped, it was Lupin who ended up in the fireplace. Fortunately the weather was too warm for the fire to be lit.

"Oh Merlin! Remus, I'm so sorry," Tonks cried jumping up. She hurried over to him and tried to help by helping lift him up.

When Lupin's head came out covered in ash, Harry couldn't help himself from chuckling. Again, as if luck was against her, Tonks jumped at the sound, dropping Lupin who she had almost gotten on his feet. He landed back inside the fireplace, cursing. Laughing so hard that tears were pouring down his face Harry slid down the wall.

Tonks tried to help him out, but Lupin waved her off. He stood up and used his wand to remove most of the ash. A few streaks of grim sill covered his hair but he didn't notice. They walked over to the door and glanced down.

"Wotcher Harry," Tonks said. She kept warily looking over at Lupin. "What are you doing here?" Harry tried to answer but couldn't because he was still laughing.

After a few seconds Lupin said, "You thought that was funny huh? Harry, if you weren't my best friend's son I would be tempted to jinx you. Meet me in the drawing room when you're done."

Lupin stepped over him and headed up the stairs. Tonks smiled at Harry, then followed. Harry wiped his eyes, grinning at what he had just seen. As soon as he stopped breathing so raggedly, he stood up deciding to go see what his favorite teacher had to tell him.

He found them sitting on the couch whispering to each other. When he entered, Tonks stood up and left, winking at Harry as she passed. He waited until he was reasonably sure she was out of listening distance before smiling slyly at Lupin.

"So is there anything new that I should know about?" Harry asked trying to keep a serious expression on his face. "Not any, er, cubs running around are there?"

Lupin gave the same smile right back, surprising him. "Harry, from what I've been hearing, I should be asking you those questions. It sounds like a certain boy-who-lived is taking after his father and fell in love with a redhead. Not any red headed, green eyed babies at the Burrow are there?"

Harry stood with his mouth opened, blushing furiously. Him and Ginny do that? He had never wanted to crawl in a hole so bad in his life. He was so focused on how Lupin could think that he and Ginny would...although a small part of his stomach roared at the thought, it took him a second to realize Lupin was laughing.

"Relax Harry. I was just paying you back. No need to die of embarrassment," said Lupin chuckling. After a moment he stopped laughing and fixed Harry with a serious expression. "There's _not_ any reason is there?"

"What? No! Of course not!" Harry stammered.

Lupin nodded and motioned at the couch next to him. "Sit down Harry."

Harry gingerly sat down not liking the way Lupin suddenly wouldn't look him in the eye. When the werewolf flushed a bright red, Harry knew something even worse than facing Voldemort was coming. Ron had told him how bad it was.

"It's not my place to discuss this with you," Lupin began, confirming Harry's fears. "But since James and Sirius are not here, I guess it falls on my shoulders. Now you know–"

"Wait! Professor Lupin you don't have to do this. Uh, I mean, er…" Harry trailed off too embarrassed to finish. All of a sudden the top of his shoes had become interesting.

Sensing his discomfort Lupin continued. "Believe me Harry, I'm not comfortable having this discussion either but we both know it has to be done. In fact we should already have had it. You're older now and you are going to get, well, urges and…"

They sat there for twenty minutes, Lupin pausing long enough to ask Harry how much he knew on certain subjects. All the while Harry refused to look Lupin in the eye, instead studying his shoes, the hem of his robe, and even the Black family tapestry across the room. Harry almost sighed in relief when Lupin sounded like he was done but he quickly found out the most embarrassing part of the talk was just beginning.

. "Now Harry, the thing you always have to remember is the contraceptive charm." Lupin hesitated then continued, his voice oddly strained. "All you have to do before you…get in bed is tap your, er, well what I mean to say is…uhm…well you know what I'm talking about don't you?" Lupin asked hopefully.

Harry gave the briefest of nods, gulping. If he face was to get any hotter he would have to do a cooling charm. He chanced a quick glance at Professor Lupin and saw that his face was completely white and pained. The only other time he had ever seen Lupin look that bad had been right after the full moon.

"Well anyway, like I said you tap your, well you know, and say _Birthius Controlu_. It lasts for two hours so I you're not done by then you have to repeat the charm. Do you understand all of that Harry? I don't need to repeat any of it do I?" Lupin asked sounding fearful.

Harry quickly shook his head. Even if he had a question he wouldn't have asked it. But, maybe since the conversation had been so uncomfortable, he could remember every sentence of what Lupin had said.

"Good. I'm going to go get me something to drink," Lupin said sounding more relieved than Harry could remember. "Do you want a butterbeer?"

As soon as he told him no, Harry changed his mind and decided that something cold would hit the spot but Lupin had already left the room. Deciding to get his own Harry walked down the steps halfway numb from the conversation he had just had with his favorite DADA professor. Now he knew what Ron had meant about how terrible it was. He was about to push into the kitchen when he heard Tonks.

"For bloody sake, Remus. Calm down!" she said impatiently. "It wasn't that bad was it?"

"Oh Merlin, Tonks. It was horrible," said Lupin. There was a clink of a glass being set down. "Give me another. One is nowhere near enough."

There was the slosh of liquid and then the scrape of the bench as Tonks sat down. "But aren't you glad that you talked to him now? I don't know about you, but I'm in no hurry to be called Auntie Tonks anytime soon."

Lupin sighed. "You're right, it had to be done. But I don't think we have to worry about any youngsters for awhile. I know Harry, and he's too smart to do something like that in the middle of the war."

Deciding that he didn't want to eavesdrop on them any longer, Harry backed up a little ways and walked forward heavily so they couldn't help but hear him coming. He pushed open the door and stepped inside the kitchen.

"I think I will have that butterbeer" he said before stepping over to the cold cabinet and grabbing a dusty bottle. He turned back and took a seat at the table, trying hard not to blush when Tonks looked at him. He focused on the bottle of fire whiskey in front of Lupin, and briefly considered asking for some.

They sat that way for a minute before Tonks finally broke the silence. "So Harry, you still want to be an Auror when you graduate?"

"Well I thought I did but I don't really know now," Harry said truthfully. He remembered thinking that being an Auror would be a great job and Professor McGonagall had vowed to help him achieve that goal. But then he heard the prophecy. If he beat Voldemort, Harry really didn't think that he would be up to making a career out of chasing dark wizards.

"What made you change your mind?" Lupin asked quietly, twirling his glass of whiskey between his hands.

"I dunno, really," Harry lied. An idea suddenly occurred to him and he said it without thinking. "It might be fun to play Quidditch for awhile."

Lupin smiled taking on a thoughtful expression. "Ah, I should have known. Following right in James' footsteps."

"My dad was a professional Quidditch player?" Harry asked. He didn't know much about his parents but the idea of his dad playing for a living seemed right. But Lupin broke the truth to him.

"No Harry, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to lead you on like that. What I meant was that James' wanted to try out of the English team right after getting out of Hogwarts. He was a darn good chaser and probably could have beaten most seekers at the tryouts," Lupin said. He stopped looking reluctant to say anymore.

But Harry wanted to know. "But? Come on Professor Lupin, what happened?"

"Well, not long after they left school you parents got married. Not long after that Lily announced that she was pregnant. So James decided to get a job closer to home so he could be with her every night. Quidditch players are sometimes away for weeks at a time, not to mention the six month training academy," Lupin explained. He swallowed the last of his whiskey, started to pour another, but he put the cork back in the bottle. He pulled out his wand and banished the Firewhiskey to the cabinet. "So he became an Unspeakable instead."

Harry sat there, something familiar twisting in his chest. According to what Lupin said, that meant that his dad had given up his ambition of playing Quidditch because of him. Not only had he been the reason that Voldemort killed them but now he learned that, before he was even born, he had destroyed his dad's dream. Harry stood up, wanting to find somewhere to be alone, but this most have shone on his face because Lupin pointed at the seat.

"Why don't you sit down?" he asked although, It didn't sound like a request. As soon as Harry reseated himself, Lupin continued in a softer voice. "Don't you dare feel guilty, Harry. Hearing that Lily was going to have a baby was probably the happiest day in James' life, other than when you were born of course."

Harry nodded vacantly. He felt a little better but not much. All he could think about was the people he cared about and how much they always ended up sacrificing around him.

First his dad had given up Quidditch, then he and Harry's mum both gave their lives so that he could live. Although reluctant, even the Dursleys had changed their lives by raising him. Then he had gotten his godfather killed. Dumbledore using the fraction of a second he had to defend himself to freeze Harry so he wouldn't get himself hurt. Ron and Hermione agreeing to give up going back to school for their seventh year. But the worst of all was the fact that the girl he had fallen in love with. He had basically told Ginny to wait for him which wasn't fair for her.

Surprising them both, it was Tonks who answered. Harry had forgotten that she was still sitting at the table and from the way Lupin jumped, he had too. "Okay Harry that's enough. Stop feeling sorry for yourself. Let me just ask you one question. What makes you better than Voldemort?"

Harry couldn't think of what to say. He thought about telling her that Voldemort was evil but that, of course, was obvious. Luckily, it seemed that Tonks hadn't really expected an answer.

"Is it the fact that Voldemort hates everyone, while you care for everybody in your life? Or is it that the people following him, do so out of fear for him and hatred of others while the people standing with you are there because they care about you? How about that even though Voldemort barely blinks when a Death Eater is killed, you're more than willing to step in front of a killing curse for one of your friends?"

Tonks paused, looking at Harry who could see concern in her eyes. She gently laid a hand on his shoulder. "Harry, I know you may feel guilty about your family and friends sacrificing so much but that is exactly why we are here for you. We know that you would do the same. That's what love is; people who are willing to do anything in their power to help each other."

Harry was astounded. Since when had the clumsy and light hearted woman been able to say something so deep and make him feel a ton better? Lupin must have thought somewhere along the same lines.

"Merlin Tonks! Where in the world did all of that come from?" Lupin asked but before she could answer the door bell rang. Tonks just smiled at the two of them and left the room. A moment later they heard her curse and the sound of something falling over that could only be the troll leg umbrella stand in the front hall.

"NOISY BLOOD TRAITORS! HOW DARE YOU BESMUDGE THE NOBLE HOUSE OF BLACK! FILTY MUDBLOOD LOVERS!" Mrs. Black screamed.

Harry and Lupin glanced at each other then both burst out laughing. A moment later, after the portrait finally calmed down, Harry grinned at Lupin and said, "You know, Tonks may be a little clumsy and a bit crazy now and then, but she really is quite smart."

"And that, Harry, is why I lover her," Lupin murmured, and then blushed furiously when he realized what he had said.

Harry however, nodded, understanding perfectly what he meant. "So, when's the wedding?"

Lupin, it seemed, didn't think this was funny. He pulled a solemn and slightly sad expression. "Come on Harry, we've only been dating for a couple of weeks. Besides why would a young, beautiful witch like her ever want to marry an old werewolf? What does she have to gain from it?"

As badly as Harry wanted to roll his eyes he managed to stop himself, from the simple reason that he had thought the same about Ginny and why she wanted anything to do with him.

"From the way she acted when you wouldn't go out with her and from the way she looks at you now, she must love you. As for how long you've known her, well this is a war…" Harry finished leaving the rest unsaid.

They both knew how easy it could happen for them to wake up in the morning and read about one more Ministry employee found dead, this time a young metamorphmagus Auror. They sat there, unknowingly both thinking about the girls in their lives. It was a few minutes later that they heard Tonks walking towards the drawing room talking to somebody.

"…I've never seen Remus so embarrassed. You'd think he'd been found starkers in the middle of the pitch at the Quidditch World Cup."

To Harry's surprise it was Mrs. Weasley who spoke next. "Well dear, he's not the only one with that problem. It took Arthur a whole day after having the talk with Bill before he starting talking to him again," Mrs. Weasley said laughing. "And you'd think that it would have gotten easier after five boys. But when he sat Ron down last summer, he came back downstairs thanking Merlin that he was done."

The appeared in the doorway, and Mrs. Weasley spotted him. "Harry dear, I didn't expect to see you again so soon."

Harry started to smile but jumped to his feet instead when Ginny appeared behind Tonks and Mrs. Weasley. His heart sped up as soon as his eyes set upon her. She wasn't wearing a robe, instead a simple sun dress. It revealed quite a bit more about her than Harry had seen, from her being buried underneath the school robes. All of a sudden he couldn't breathe. Seeing Ginny standing there, he suddenly realized that he had never known how absolutely beautiful she was.

"Hey Harry," she said smiling. It hurt him to see that it didn't reach her eyes.

If Lupin hadn't nudged him with his elbow, Harry didn't know how long he would have stood there admiring Ginny. "Uh, hello. You doing alright Ginny?"

"I'm fine."

Harry didn't know what made him do it. Even with all of them watching, he had to say, "Merlin Ginny, you're so beautiful." For some reason he didn't even blush, maybe it was because he had done so much of it in the last hour or maybe it was because he was simply stating the truth. Either way, he was glad he had said it.

At first Ginny's eyes widened and then she started giggling. Lupin chuckled while Tonks and Mrs. Weasley held smug smiles. But Harry didn't care because Ginny was smiling now, really smiling. He grinned back at her, suddenly feeling shy.

Finally after what seemed like ages to Harry, Lupin stood and walked towards the door. "Molly, why don't we go on up to the drawing room. There should be plenty of space for you and Tonks there."

The three adults left the room, leaving Harry alone with Ginny. Neither one of them spoke and kept avoiding each other's gaze. Luckily it wasn't long before they heard the door bell again, which seemed to break their paralysis.

"Harry, I wanted–"

"Ginny, how about we–"

They both began talking at once. Harry smiled and then motioned for her to go first. Ginny walked over and sat down at the table across from him. She waited until Harry sat down too before starting again.

"I wanted to know what a horcrux is," Ginny said, looking at him seriously.


	4. The Good, the Bad, and the Portkey

**Chapter 4 – The Good, the Bad, and the Portkey**

Harry nearly fell off the bench. How in bloody hell could she possibly know about the Horcruxes? He figured that there were only three people who knew and she wasn't one of them. He was willing to bet his life that Ron and Hermione would never tell anyone about them.

"I heard you and Hermione talking about it the day after Dumbledore…the day after Snape killed Dumbledore. You were telling her about a locket and someone with the initials R.A.B.," Ginny said pausing. She seemed to gather some courage before asking the next question. "Is this Horcrux one of the reasons why you don't want to go out with me anymore?"

Harry sat silent, his brain still trying to absorb the information that Ginny had heard about the Horcruxes. He knew from the look in her eye that she wasn't going to leave him alone until he told her the truth. But that didn't change the fact that it wasn't safe for her to know exactly what they were.

"Ginny, I can't."

She took on the fiery expression that always preceded the Weasley temper. "And _why_ exactly can you not tell me?"

Harry tried to say something that wouldn't make her mad but ended up failing miserably. "I already told you why, Ginny. It's not safe for you–"

"HARRY JAMES POTTER! Don't you _dare_ feed me that rubbish that you're trying to protect me!" Ginny yelled furiously. She had jumped to her feet and was now glaring down at him. "You do not have to treat me like a little girl. Don't you think I can take care of myself?"

"You know that's not what I meant. All I'm trying to do–" Harry quickly replied but Ginny cut him off.

"What _I know_ is that I was with you at the Department of Ministries and I fought the Death Eaters at Hogwarts. And I pretty much held my own at both places. Have you forgotten that? Or do you seriously see me as so helpless?"

Harry looked into the face of his ex-girlfriend. Things had quickly gone sour. And where exactly did she get off yelling at him? He _was _trying to keep her safe, after all. The way she made it sound, was that he didn't want her beside him which was far from the truth. But he was getting tired of being screamed at.

"If you'll let me talk for a minute Miss Weasley," Harry said hotly. He saw some of the anger leave her face but she was still glaring at him. "Of course I know you're not helpless. But it's just like I said a week ago. If Voldemort found out that we were together–"

Once again she interrupted him, but this time she had a softer tone and was looking at him with her eyebrows raised. "Harry, was Draco Malfoy a Death Eater or not?"

"You know he was. What does that have to do with anything?"

"Think about it for a minute. Draco knew we were dating and would have been more than happy to tell his master that."

Harry smiled grimly, thinking he had finally won the argument. "Exactly! That's why we broke up, so that Voldemort would think you aren't important to me anymore."

Ginny however, instead of looking defeated shook her head. "Harry for someone who's faced him more than any other wizard, you don't seem to know him very well. Would Voldemort really care that we aren't together anymore?"

Harry didn't have a reply to that. He was starting to see where she was going and he didn't like it one bit.

"The answer is no. Of course he wouldn't care. He'll kill me just because I dated you once," said Ginny a little more softly. She sat back down. "Not to mention the fact that my family is considered blood traitors by the rest of the purebloods."

Full of doubt now, Harry managed to whisper, "I didn't think about that."

"Well then, you see that it's just as dangerous to make everyone think we don't like each other? So what's the point in pretending to be broken up?" Ginny asked gently.

Harry shrugged. He really didn't see the point of staying away from Ginny anymore. Now that she had told him, he realized it did seem kind of silly that Voldemort would leave her alone just because there was a rumor going around that it was off between them. Voldemort was smarter than that. Besides the Weasleys were a strong supporter of the light which made them even more of a target.

"You're right about us," Harry said looking at the table instead of her eyes. "But if I told you about the Horcruxes and what they were, you can't tell anyone else. Not you mum and dad, your brothers, or even Professor McGonagall. Okay?"

Ginny nodded. "Alright."

So for half an hour, Harry told her all that had happened that year. She looked as sick as he had felt when he had first heard that the reason Voldemort couldn't die, was that he had hid six pieces of his soul. Surprising himself, when he was done telling her about Dumbledore falling off the tower, Harry felt tears rolling down his face. He waited a few moments for Ginny to absorb all of the information.

"At least, that part makes sense," said Ginny softly. When Harry raised his eyebrow she explained. "I was wondering how Snape managed to get a curse off against Professor Dumbledore."

"He wasted time freezing me, giving Malfoy enough time to disarm him. He was wandless. Even a greasy git like Snape can defeat someone then."

"But haven't you ever seen Dumbledore use wandless magic Harry?" Ginny asked. "Don't you think that he could have defended himself against the likes of Malfoy?"

Harry admitted she was right. Now that he thought about it, Dumbledore was always using magic without a wand. He remembered a dark alley before his fifth year where he had lost his wand and in desperation to find it, he had yelled _Lumos_. It had worked. So if he could do simple wandless magic like lighting his wand, not to mention blowing Aunt Marge up, then it made sense that someone as powerful as Dumbledore could defend himself with it. But that still left him with one question.

"You're right. He was good at wandless magic. But why didn't he use it to defend himself on the astronomy tower?" Harry asked, more to himself than to Ginny, so he was surprised when she answered.

"If he was weak from drinking that potion, then maybe he didn't have enough energy to use wandless magic. That makes sense, doesn't it?"

"It makes perfect sense. But I do have one more question for you to answer," said Harry. He was tired of talking about Voldemort, Horcruxes, and Dumbledore's death, so he figured it was time to change the subject. "When did you get so smart?"

Ginny arched an eyebrow. "And what exactly are you trying to say Mr. Potter? That until now, you thought I was as dumb as a flobberworm?" asked Ginny with a low growl, but Harry could clearly see the twinkle in her eyes.

"I'm sorry Gin, that's not what I meant at all," said Harry. "You're definitely smarter than a flobberworm. A Mountain Troll...now that would be a close call between the two of you."

"Prat," Ginny grinned, hitting Harry on the shoulder.

Harry smiled and rubbed his shoulder. "Ron was right when he said not to get on your bad side."

"Harry, I'm sorry for yelling at you before," said Ginny suddenly, reaching across the table and grasping his hand. "But sometimes that thick head of yours needs someone to whack it. Preferably someone with red hair and a great personality."

Harry laughed, gazing into her eyes. With the creature in his chest roaring in approval he stood up, pulled Ginny across the table, and kissed her. Her eyes widened for a second, then she closed them and moaned.

What could have been a few seconds or a couple of hours later, Harry broke off breathing heavily. He started to apologize but Ginny yanked his head back for more. It was half an hour later when someone spoke from the door.

"What do we have here?"

Harry and Ginny jumped apart. Somehow she had gotten across the table and into his lap and then, even more mysteriously, his hands had found their way into the back of her dress. Blushing even more than he had when talking to Lupin, Harry looked up. Tonks stood at the door smirking at the two of them.

"It certainly seems like Remus had that talk with you just in time, Harry."

"No! That's not…we were just, er...uhm," Harry stammered panicking. To his astonishment Ginny started giggling and Tonks was laughing, grasping the door frame to hold herself up. Her hair was shuffling through a rainbow of colors.

Trying to catch her breath a minute later, Tonks managed to look up for a second. "Relax kiddo, no one needs to know about this do they? Just like no one needs to know about mine and Remus' little accident earlier."

"Right, okay," Harry quickly agreed.

"Molly wants to talk to you Harry," Tonks said smiling and wiping her eyes. Her hair back to its customary pink color. "You might as well come too Ginny. I think she's almost ready to leave."

Harry followed them out of the kitchen. Treading up the stairs he wondered how he was ever going to look Mrs. Weasley in the eye. He was worried so much that his head was starting to hurt. Even though she wasn't a Legilimens, Harry figured it would only take one look into his eyes for Mrs. Weasley to see he had been up to something.

Ginny reached the top of the stairs and turned around. "Harry? Is something wrong? Are you okay?" Tonks turned around after hearing Ginny.

"I'm fine," Harry muttered but every step he climbed, the pain in his head flared brighter. He was two steps from the top when it felt like his head had exploded.

"…he's happy," Harry whispered, clutching his head and losing his balance.

He saw Ginny and Tonks both reach out for him but they weren't quick enough. As Harry fell backwards, he realized that it had been his scar hurting. Voldemort had employed Occlumency against him for so long that he had almost forgotten how much pain the dark wizard could cause. By the time his body hit the bottom of the stairs with a sickening crunch, Harry couldn't feel anything anymore.

Harry drifted through a fog of darkness, before finally settling down in a candle lit room. He was sitting on a chair, with a group of hooded people forming a half circle in front of him. A feeling of extreme pleasure coursed through his body. His mouth opened, but it wasn't his voice that came out.

"Are you sure Severus?"

As one of the hooded wizards stepped forward and removed his mask, Harry wanted to launch out of the chair and rip the man's head off and yet at the same time he couldn't help but thinking how incredibly helpful the slimy git had been. Smiling at the thought of the meddling Dumbledore dead, he patiently waited for an answer.

"Yes, my lord. As soon as Dumbledore died, the charm was broken," Snape said kneeling on one knee. "Apparently none of the foolish idiots remembered to recast the charm."

Harry stared at the greasy haired man for a minute then motioned for him to rise. "You have done well, Severus. Come stand by my chair."

As Snape quickly stepped up by him Voldemort turned to the rest of the Death Eaters. "My spy has informed me that Potter," Harry felt himself spit the word with venom, "has just an hour ago taken ownership of the house. Do not disappoint me Bellatrix. I want them dead and the house destroyed."

One of the larger hooded figures stepped forward and knelt. "I will not fail you Master."

Harry nodded then turned to Snape. "If you will, Severus."

Snape smiled wickedly, and turned to the Death Eaters. Harry listened in horror as he spoke. "The location for the Order of the Phoenix is at…number twelve, Grimmauld Place."

Harry gasped. How was that possible? The Fidelius charm was supposed to keep anyone from saying the address of the headquarters. Then he remembered what Snape had said while bowing to him. Surely Professor Lupin or one of the other order members would have realized to cast the charm again. But they _had_ been distracted by Dumbledore's death.

As the Death Eaters filed out of the room Harry felt his head turn to Snape. While Voldemort started asking about the progress with the giants, Harry started panicking. Death Eaters were about to attack Grimmauld Place. Not only was his real body there, but Ginny was there. He wouldn't be able to live if anything happened to–

"Potter!" Voldemort hissed and Harry immediately felt something pushing on him. He struggled against it for a second but there was no point. With a sickening feeling of nothingness for a brief second, Harry finally opened his eyes. Mrs. Weasley, Tonks, and Ginny were kneeling on the floor next to him but they were all looking away.

"What do you mean the floo's not working?" Mrs. Weasley screeched. "I thought we could use it for emergencies?"

"I know that Molly, but it's still not working. Someone must have blocked it," Lupin said sounding worried.

Harry sat up. Something was wrong with his left arm but Harry ignored it. He had to warn them! He tried to yell at them to get out, but all that came out was a whisper. "We have to leave! Now!"

The three females turned and Ginny was hugging him before he knew it. "Harry! I was so worried. Was it your scar?" She pulled back, took one look at his face and said, "What's wrong? Was it Voldemort?"

Harry nodded and after Ginny yelled at the others to shut up he quickly told them what he had seen. Lupin's face paled. He and Tonks rushed to the windows. For a second Harry was surprised to see Hestia Jones standing by the fire place looking lost. Then he remembered the doorbell ringing while he and Ginny had been talking.

But it was Mrs. Weasley's reaction that shocked him the most. She simply shook her head. "Nonsense Harry. You must have hit your head," she said looking at him sympathetically. "We need to get you to St. Mungo's. While the healer fixes your broken arm maybe she could take a quick look at your head."

Harry had never felt like yelling at her so badly, but luckily he didn't have to because Tonks screamed.

"Merlin! He's right!"

Harry stood up and with Ginny steadying him after a brief moment where he was dizzy, they walked over to the window to look outside. Sure enough a group of Death Eaters stood on the front garden. One of them walked forward, and Harry had no trouble recognizing the fat witch. However, it seemed he wasn't the only one. Both Tonks and Lupin hissed her name at the same time.

"_Bellatrix!_"

The plump witch stopped a few feet away from the front step. She raised her wand to her throat and a second later her magnified voice shook the windows. "Can ittle baby Pottykins come out to play?" She tried to laugh but all Harry heard was a cackle.

Then before any of them could reply green light shot through a window, barely missing Lupin's head by an inch.

"Get away from the windows!" Tonks shouted before grabbing Harry and Ginny and dragging them to one side of the hall. Lupin and Mrs. Weasley stood on the other side both looking a little scared but determined.

There were a few laughs from outside then Bellatrix's voice once again. "No matter. We'll just come in to play."

The front door splintered but held as a barrage of curses hit it. Tonks, falling back on her Auror training, was the one who took action. She burst the window beside her and started randomly firing curses outside.

"Get upstairs. Hurry!" she shouted, ducking as a purple beam flew by. Hestia Jones, brought out of her daze at Tonk's shout, joined the metamorphmagus at the windows. Knowing that Ginny wouldn't leave him there to help the two witches hold them off while she went upstairs, Harry nodded and let her lead him back away from the front of the building. Lupin and Mrs. Weasley joined them at the top of the stairs.

A few minutes later, the house shook as the door below was blown off the hinges. They listened as Tonks cursed and fired off a few more spells. They barely had time to move out of the way as she came flying up the stairs. Her face was covered in blood.

She saw the look on Lupin's face. They shared a grim look and Harry barely managed to catch Tonks shake her head and then Lupin nod. "Don't worry, just a piece of glass."

"Where's Hestia?" Mrs. Weasley whispered looking down the stairs. She turned to Tonks and all it took was one look at the other witch's face. Mrs. Weasley clamped her hand over her mouth, her eyes wide. Harry thought she was close to tears but then she too nodded and moved next to Ginny.

From that point they had different ideas on what to do. Mrs. Weasley and Lupin wanted to make a stand from one of the rooms, while Tonks wanted to wait at the head of the stairs for the Death Eaters to start up and then ambush them. Harry found himself liking Tonks plan more.

In less than a minute it was agreed that Harry and Tonks would wait at the stairs and fight off the Death Eaters for as long as possible. Meanwhile Mrs. Weasley, Ginny, and Lupin would cover them from Mrs. Black's room when they had to retreat. They all agreed that is, except for Ginny.

"I'm fine now, really." Harry told her while keeping an eye on the foyer downstairs. So far none of the Death Eaters had appeared but that could change in a second. "Please just go. I can't concentrate if I'm worried about you being hit with a curse."

Her eyes flashed and Harry could tell that he had said the wrong thing yet again. But lucky for him it was Tonks who made the decision. "Let her stay. The more people guarding the stairs the better."

Mrs. Weasley started to disagree but was cut off when Death Eaters appeared below. Lupin dragged her down the hall and into the room Buckbeak had stayed in, while Tonks, Harry, and Ginny started firing spells.

Both Harry and Ginny shouted, "_Stupefy_!" and hit the same person. From the way the Death Eater was thrown backwards into the wall, there was no doubt that person wouldn't be joining back in the fight anytime soon. But there was no time to pause so they kept firing into the mass of people below.

Tonks however had muttered a strange spell that Harry had never seen. A ball of purple fire shot from the end of her wand, barreling down the stairs straight at one of the bigger Death Eaters. He tried to jump out of the way but the ball burst two feet above him.

At first Harry thought that she had missed but then he saw hundreds of purple rays fly from the spot where the ball had exploded. A couple of them hit the man and he immediately fell to the ground. Harry was glad to see that some of the beams had even hit another robed figure.

Then curses where flying back up the stairs and the battle began. Holding one arm against his chest and using the other to fire his wand he knocked a few of the black robed people off the stairs. He soon lost track of time and the count of how many times he only managed to dodge a spell with less than an inch to spare. But his luck didn't hold out for long. Harry had just hit two Death Eaters with a few reductos, trying to ignore the spray of blood that had erupted from them before they crashed to the floor. Then out of the corner of his eye he saw a jet of red coming at him, skimming less than two inches above the steps. Immediately he knew he wouldn't be able to dodge out of the way in time so he jumped. Unfortunately he wasn't fast enough. Harry cried out as every bone below his right knee shattered. He landed on his side gasping for breath.

"Harry!" Ginny screamed turning to look at him. Harry tried to cry out for her to duck but he could only wheeze and watch as she was hit. He watched as she slowly fell to the floor. Fear tore into his body. She was dead!

Ginny was dead.

Drawing strength from the fear that his girlfriend was gone, Harry managed to drag himself over to her body. He reached one bloody hand out and brushed a few stray hairs out of her face. Tears pouring from his eyes, he tried to tell himself that he was just imagining the gently rising of her chest.

Then Lupin was there. "Out of the way Harry."

Harry let himself a small glimmer of hope as Lupin pushed him to the side and pulled his wand out. "We need you to wake up Ginny. _Rennervate!_" he whispered his wand pointing to her chest and to Harry's astonishment her eyes blinked. He heard her whisper his name and he was about to answer her when Lupin grabbed his shoulder, squeezing it.

"Hurry up! I can't hold them much longer," Tonks shouted at Lupin.

Nodding at her, Lupin turned to Harry and quickly ran his wand over Harry's leg. "Bone crushing curse. I can't heal it but I can remove them so it won't hurt so much. Do you understand?"

Harry told him to go ahead, remembering his second year when the DADA professor had accidentally removed the bones out of his arm after a Quidditch game. Lupin twirled his wand and a second later Harry felt the familiar deflating feeling in his leg. But at least the pain was gone.

"Tonks, we're going," Lupin yelled over his shoulder as he helped Harry onto his feet. He briefly saw Mrs. Weasley pulling Ginny up before Lupin was dragging him down the hall. Inside the room Lupin lowered him on the bed. Right behind them Mrs. Weasley entered with a dazed Ginny leaning on her shoulder. As soon as she saw him, Ginny's eyes cleared and she threw herself into his arms.

"Oh Harry! I'm so sorry. I heard you scream and then…then" she broke off sobbing on his shoulder. He winced as she tightly gripped his broken arm but didn't say anything. A minute ago he had thought she was dead so a little pain wasn't going to keep him from holding her. Mrs. Weasley however, looked concerned.

"Ginny dear, you're hurting his arm," Mrs. Weasley said gently. She went to the door and peered out with her wand drawn.

Seeing that Harry was going to be okay, Lupin slipped out of the room. A minute later he was running back into the room with Tonks. Other than the piece of glass stuck in her forehead and a wide gash on her arm that slowly seeped blood, the young Auror looked alright.

As soon as they were inside Mrs. Weasley and Lupin both turned to the door and started casting spells on it. Harry recognized the imperturbable charm but didn't think that would keep the Death Eaters out for long, unless they decided to storm them by throwing dungbombs at the door. No sooner had Lupin and Mrs. Weasley finished, that Bellatrix's voice rang through the house.

"Send out Potter and we might let the rest of you live," she shouted. There were a few snorts of laughter that sounded like they had come from down the hall. "Then again it would be more fun just to kill you all now."

They five of them stood waiting, with their wands pointed at the door. Harry had to lean against the bedpost for balance but when the time came he vowed to take out as many of the Death Eaters as he could. Tonks, Mrs. Weasley, Lupin, and Ginny all had the same determined look on their faces as if they were thinking the same thing.

Time passed slowly, without a single sound from the Death Eaters. Harry was so busy wondering what they planning that he failed to notice anything wrong so it was Ginny who pointed it out first.

"Mum! There's smoke coming under the door."

Sure enough, black smoke crept in from the inch of space between the door and the floor. Tonks, since she was closest to it, reached out to open the door. She cried out and jerked her hand back as it touched the metal doorknob. She grabbed the edge of her robe and tried again.

Harry didn't have to see out to know that the house was on fire. The second the door opened, a wave of heat flooded the room.

Tonks quickly slammed the door shut. "Bloody hell! The whole second floor's on fire. We're trapped."

"But I remember reading something about fire having no effect on witches and wizards at the beginning of third year. Couldn't we use a flame freezing charm?" Harry asked refusing to believe that after escaping Voldemort five times he would end up dying in a house fire.

Lupin shook his head looking at him sadly. "I'm sorry Harry but that only works on fires set by muggle methods. It would have no effect on fire started magically."

It was Ginny who came up with one of the simpler solutions. "Why don't we just blast a hole through the wall?"

"We could try," Lupin replied but Harry noticed he didn't look hopeful.

The five of them aimed at the wall on the other side of the room. "REDUCTO!" five voices cried. But where the curses hit, the wall shimmered brightly. There wasn't even a scratch.

"I was afraid of that," Lupin said grimly. "When Sirius was holding Buckbeak here, he had Dumbledore put a few charms on the room so the hippogriff couldn't break out."

"Well, let's break the charms," Harry said still pointing his wand at the wall.

This time it was Mrs. Weasley who broke the last glimmer of hope that he had. "It will take too long. Bill is always complaining about spending hours trying to break the enchantments on a tomb."

Even though he didn't want to, Harry let her words sink in. Bill was a curse breaker that worked for Gringotts. If it took him a couple of hours to break a curse centuries old, then they could try all day to break Dumbledore's charms with no luck. They stood silently, each of them trying to think of a way out.

The room was getting noticeably hotter. Harry glanced at the others and noticed that all of them were covered in sweat. Time was quickly running out.

"I take it none of you can Apparate out?" Ginny asked wiping sweat off her forehead.

Harry and Remus glanced at each other. Both of them sharing a look that plainly said neither one of them had even thought about Apparition. Concentrating, Harry turned. A flood of relief hit him as he felt the familiar squeezing but something pushed against his body refusing to let him leave the room. Lupin had also tried but he ended up with the same result. Either the Anti-Apparition ward was still working or the Death Eaters had cast one of their own.

The room felt ten times worse than the Divination classroom in the middle of the summer. Harry stripped off his robe, leaving the t-shirt underneath on for now. The others quickly followed except for Ginny who had nothing left to take off. A small fraction of Harry wanted to tell her to go ahead and take the dress off, but he ignored it. The sight of Ginny standing in front of him naked would only make the room hotter. Then Lupin suggested cooling charms which they all applied, although they didn't help much.

"This is it then, isn't it?" Harry asked sitting on the bed. No one answered him, although Tonks looked thoughtful. Ginny walked over and sat down. With his good arm, Harry pulled her to him. Well if he was to die right then, at least he was going to go out with the girl he loved in his arms. He realized that was the simple truth and wasn't surprised one bit. He loved her.

Harry snuggled Ginny closer and put his chin on the top of her head. Both of them were burning up but neither wanted to let go. He looked at the adults in the room, thinking about what to say to them. Mrs. Weasley eyes were distant and he instinctively knew she was saying goodbye to her family inside her head.

Tonks meanwhile had summoned an extra blanket from a cupboard across the room and hurriedly stuffed it under the door to keep the thick smoke from coming in. Harry figured it might be better to suffocate from carbon monoxide than to roast alive, but he didn't say anything.

Lupin however, was looking at him. Harry had the impression that his old DADA Professor had been studying him for quite some time. They locked gaze for a second but Lupin turned away and went over to whisper to Tonks. A minute later Tonks surprised them all by crying out.

"Oh Merlin Remus! I forgot." She quickly kissed him before reaching under her shirt. For a second, Harry had the wild thought that she was going to strip naked but then she pulled her hand back out. Dangling from her fist was a silver necklace with a small cylinder attached at the bottom.

"Here Harry," she said holding out the necklace but Harry didn't take it. "It's an emergency portkey. All you have to do is put the necklace on and squeeze both ends of the cylinder to activate it. It'll take you directly to St. Mungo's," Tonks explained. She glanced at Remus sadly then looked back at him. "It will only work for one person."

"NO! You take it," Harry yelled refusing to even touch the necklace.

"I can't leave Remus," Tonks said simply.

Couldn't she tell that was the exact same way he felt about Ginny, Harry thought wildly. "Can't we make a portkey?"

"I'm sorry Harry, but that won't work," said Lupin. "The caster's wand has to be authorized by the Ministry before the _Portus_ spell will work. They never thought a werewolf trustworthy enough to authorize, so I can't use the spell."

When Harry turned to Mrs. Weasley, she shook her head. "Author can, since he works at the Ministry but i can't either."

Tonks was next. "Sorry kiddo. I'm too new. They don't authorize Aurors until they've been on for five years."

Lupin stepped forward and patted Harry on the back. "This is the only way Harry. You have to take it."

"Give it to Mrs. Weasley. I won't leave Ginny either and I know she feels the same way." Ginny nodded against his chest but Harry barely noticed. A vague plan was building in his head. He knew she would hate him for it, but at least then she would be alive. He'd have to do this right, otherwise they'd get suspicious and force him to use the portkey.

In a very calm voice, Lupin said, "Harry I know about the prophecy. James must have told Sirius about it before he went into hiding. Sirius told me last year, making me promise not to stop you from fulfilling it. Letting you refuse to take the portkey is breaking that promise."

"No. I can't professor Lupin," Harry whispered. Tears fell down his cheeks but he barely noticed them. "Please. Don't make me leave everyone behind."

Lupin knelt in front of Harry and Ginny. "Harry you can't die today. We both know that you're the only one who can kill Voldemort."

Ginny gasped and straightened up looking at him. While Mrs. Weasley screamed, muttering something about it not being fair. Tonks stood to the side, her eyes wide. Harry looked at all of them and knew he wouldn't be able to live with himself if he left them there to die while he used the portkey, so he never even gave his plan a second thought.

But he did know what needed to be done. Without a word he held his hand out to Tonks. With something that looked like relief she dropped the necklace in his palm. He nodded to her then turned to Ginny. He gazed into her almond eyes, feeling peaceful that he was doing the right thing.

He leaned over and kissed her, running his hand along her neck. When he felt her stiffen as she realized what was happening, Harry leaned back to look into her eyes one last time.

"I love you, Ginerva Weasley," he whispered before squeezing the cylinder. Then her surprised face was gone in a flash of white light.


	5. Healer Wars

**Chapter 5 – Healer Wars**

Harry stared at the spot Ginny had disappeared from. His heart was aching from being torn between two emotions. Sorrow that he would never see her again, and happiness that she would live.

"Damn it, Harry!" Lupin yelled. His hands balled into fists. "You were supposed to use the portkey. You're the only one of us who matters."

Harry turned to Lupin calmer than he had been all day. Even if the three adults in the room didn't see it, he was certain he had done the right thing. "Tonks was right Professor Lupin. If I had left you all here to die, then I wouldn't have been any better than Voldemort."

"What about the prophecy, Harry? If you're the only one able to kill Voldemort and you die today, where does that leave the rest of the wizarding world? Ginny along with every one else who dared betrayed him will be slaughtered. You should have thought about the bigger picture instead of trying to save your girlfriend."

Harry was getting angry. "Do you know what the power the dark lord knows not is? Dumbledore said it was love. Are you trying to tell me I have a chance against him without the one I love there?"

"Okay guys, that's enough. We can stand here all day yelling at each other or we could try and figure out how to get out of this bloody room alive," Tonks said interrupting them.

Harry agreed that she was right. Already he could feel the heat wearing away his cooling charm. Reapplying it wouldn't matter. It was already so hot in the room that if each of them hadn't used the charm, their skin would be blistering.

A loud wail suddenly sounded from the door. Lupin spared a quick glance at it then pushed them toward the back wall. "The wards are about to break. Get as far away as possible."

Right before they crouched down Mrs. Weasley jumped up. She pointed her wand at them and cried "_Aquamenti!"_ She then drenched herself before crouching down with them. "It'll keep the heat away a few seconds longer. Although it might–"

With a sound resembling thunder, the door caught fire as the wards finally failed. In seconds fire demolished the door and burst into the room. It quickly spread across the room right towards them.

Extreme pain followed. Exactly like the Cruciatus curse, every inch of Harry's body screamed in agony. Mrs. Weasley was the first to start screaming but it wasn't long before Harry joined her. With his eyes tightly clinched shut, his only thought was for it to hurry up and end. One of his ear drums ruptured with a high pitched whistle of air.

But to his confusion it didn't stop. The pain had finally broken his mind, he figured. The whistling escalated until a beautiful song covered the sound of their screams and the roar of the fire. Suddenly feeling peaceful he was surprised to find that the room wasn't as hot anymore.

It was finally when he realized he was breathing fresh air that Harry opened his eyes. His glasses had disappeared sometime in the past few minutes so his vision was blurry. All he could see was a flash of black in the middle of the orange.

_Human, grab my feathers. _A strange yet calm voice said inside his head. The blur of black fluttered right in front of him. With a blistered hand, Harry reached out and felt something that reminded him of a certain bird that had disappeared.

"Fawkes? What are you doing here?" Harry whispered. His throat was raw and it hurt to breathe.

_No human. Fawkes was a brother of mine. I am Argos. Now please, grab my feathers. Your friends don't have much time_.

A Phoenix? Harry's heart raced as he realized there just might be a way out now. He closed his hand around the black blur and felt a very familiar sensation. He was as light as the air. Suddenly realizing what was happening, Harry turned and saw three shapes slumped against the wall. Ignoring the immense pain from moving his arm Harry grabbed the hand of the one nearest him. Then his spirits dropped.

"Argos? How are we going to get them all?" He asked wincing at the pain spiking his throat with every word.

_They are touching. As long as you form a link with them through touch I will be able to transport all four of you._

Harry nodded, trying to ignore the smell of his burnt skin. In a flash of flames, completely cool this time, Argos took them out of the oven. After a short trip through blackness that oddly felt the same as Apparition, Harry landed on a cold floor. He barely had time to register a crowd of people walking around him before the screaming started.

"Bloody Hell! What was that?"

"They're red as a lobster."

"Get Healers Marcus and Nordine down here. Now!"

There were a lot more people who were cursing and pointing at them. Then Harry saw a blurry fat man kneel in front of him. He managed to make out what had to be a wand, scanning him. His vision started to throb in and out as he started to get sleepy.

"Son, listen to me. What caused these burns?" The man shook him. "When you answer my question you can go to sleep, but I have to know before I can treat it. Was it a Dragon?"

Harry summoned enough strength to answer. "Death Eaters…fire to house…and Argos," was all he managed before slipping into the comforting darkness.

He didn't know how long he drifted but it felt like ages and mere moments at the same time. He had flashes of a room in St. Mungo's and another darker room where for some reason people dressed in black were bowing to him. In the bright place he felt pain and people begging him to wake up. And at the dark place there was no pain in him but judging from the way the people were screaming on the floor, _they_ hurt pretty bad.

"Fools!" He screamed enjoying the way that they cowered, yet furious that they had failed yet again. "You came back assuring me that Potter was dead and yet he lies in St. Mungo's very much alive."

One of the figures crawled forward. "I'm sorry master. I thought–"

He sneered at the woman cowering at his feet. Harry felt like killing her there on the spot but another part of him felt that she could be useful yet. "Bellatrix, my dear. When I want you to think I will inform you to do so. But you have failed me. There is no mercy for failure."

"N-no master p-p-please…"

Harry kicked her away from him and then whipped his wand in her direction

"_Crucio_!"

As the woman screamed he felt himself leaving the scene and once again heading back to the bright place. Surprisingly the pain wasn't bad, other than just a few sharp shooting pains in his leg that he recognized as the work of Skele-Gro. He opened his eyes and immediately shut them, wincing at the bright light. A few tries later he managed to open them and look around.

Even though he wasn't wearing his glasses, Harry could see the shape of someone with red hair slumped in the chair beside his bed. He must have been put in a private room, for other than Mrs. Weasley, or maybe it was Ginny, the room was empty.

He laid in the bed for over half an hour, bearing the pain in his leg. He didn't want to wake his companion but he couldn't stand the thirst any longer. Struggling to sit up a little better, Harry looked over at the figure.

"Can I get some water?" he tried to shout. Instead it came out as a half hearted squeak, but it was enough for sleeping form to jerk awake.

"Harry!" it screamed and the next thing he knew he was holding a sobbing red headed body. One smell of her hair was all it took for him to realize that it was indeed Ginny. He wrapped his arms around her, grateful that she wasn't mad at him for sending her off but soon understood he wasn't forgiven that easy.

As quickly as she had crossed the room, Ginny jerked away and grabbed his shoulders, shaking them. "DON'T YOU EVER DO THAT AGAIN, HARRY JAMES POTTER!"

"G-Ginny I…" Harry tried to apologize but she wasn't through.

"I mean it! If you ever send me away like a little girl again so you can die feeling noble, I will never forgive you." Tears were pouring down her face. Harry raised a shaking hand and tried to wipe them away but only managed to poke her in the eye.

"Oh Merlin, Ginny! I'm sorry," Harry cried his eyes wide. He pulled himself up straight, to hug her, but realized that he couldn't because she had collapsed on the bed, her whole body shaking. Terrified that he had hurt her, Harry started to scream for a Healer. But it seemed he didn't need to bother.

Incredulously she was laughing. He watched her rolling around on the end of the bed laughing so hard that she had trouble breathing. Harry began to wonder if the emergency portkey had somehow addled up her mind. Finally she got control of herself. Gasping for air, and wiping her eyes Ginny sat up and looked at him.

Still feeling a little confused, and yet not able to keep himself from smiling as he looked into her eyes, Harry shook his head. "Do I even want to know what you found so funny?"

She grinned back. "Well if you must know Mr. Potter, it was the fact that you have a very unique way of apologizing. Just poke the girl in the eye and hope for the best."

Harry laughed, conceding that when she put it that way, it was a little funny. "Don't go telling Ron my secret. It won't work if too many blokes tried it. Besides I think Hermione would kill him."

Ginny giggled. Harry reached out and pulled her closer to him, grabbing her hands in his. "But seriously Gin. I am really sorry. I can't even imagine how mad you were when I sent you away, but you have to realize that if anything was to happen to you I don't think I could find the energy to go on fighting."

Before he knew it Ginny was kissing him. He returned the favor and a few minutes later they pulled apart both breathing heavy. "Okay fine, Harry. But what _you_ need to realize is that I feel the same way. So for now on let's both promise to fight together next time."

Harry nodded, realizing she wouldn't take no for an answer. But when the time came, if he had the chance, he would do anything he could to keep her safe. It was better having her angry with him than to watch her die. They sat together in a comfortable silence until Harry jerked his head up.

"Oh Merlin Ginny," Harry said realizing he hadn't asked how the others were doing. "Are your mum, Tonks, and Professor Lupin alright?"

"Just some burns, which took the healers no time at all to clear up. They would have already been up here to see you but they were ordered to stay in bed for a few more hours."

Harry nodded, relieved. "Did we get any of the Death Eaters?"

For some reason this embarrassed Ginny. She looked down at her feet and mumbled something. Harry had to ask her to say it again. "I haven't heard anything yet. I've been here with you since you were brought in."

He grabbed her head and turned her face so he could stare into her eyes. He smiled at her and decided to show her how much he appreciated her concern. They were both leaning in for another kiss when the door to the room flew open causing them to jump.

"Aw, will you look at that."

"Why if it isn't our dear sister–"

"And our heroic investor–"

"About to play a game of tonsil Quidditch."

Fred and George both clasped their hands to their chest and fluttered their eyelids. "Isn't it romantic George?"

"I say it is," George replied. Then he sighed and looked at his twin. "They grow up so fast, Fred. Wasn't it only yesterday that we were changing little Gin-Gin's nappy?"

Harry had frozen the second he heard who it was, immediately imagining the two older brothers pounding on him for taking advantage of their little sister while Ginny had been laughing the whole time. But the second George called her Gin-Gin, she was out of the bed in a flash.

Without his glasses, Harry couldn't see the twin's faces but he imagined they showed fear because an angry Weasley woman was not something to play with, no matter how young she was. Needless to say it didn't take long for Fred and George to apologize and quickly make a retreat from the room. Ginny walked back over and sat on the edge of the bed.

"Sometimes I want to hex those two so bad I can't stand it," she muttered. She looked up at him. "Oh Harry. Sorry, I forgot all about these."

Ginny reached for something on the table beside his bed and slid them on his nose. Blinking at the sudden clearness of the room, he started to ask where she had got them, as he thought he had lost them back at Grimmauld Place, when the door opened again. This time it wasn't the twins and Harry could clearly see who stepped inside. Although he had barely registered the bushy brown hair before she flew across the room and wrapped her arms around him.

"Hey Hermione," Harry whispered patting her back. "Can you do me a favor?"

Hermione lifter her head off his chest, looked up and nodded.

"Could you let go? I'm still a little sore."

Hermione gave a little shriek and jumped away from him. "I'm so sorry Harry. I should have known better. If I would just have thought about it I would–"

"Give the man some room to breathe 'Mione," Ron said grinning from the doorway. He stepped up next to the bed and clapped Harry on the back. "Alright mate?"

Harry winced. Out of the two shoulders for Ron to pat, he had to chose the one with the recently healed broken arm. Smiling a little wider to hide his discomfort, Harry said, "Of course."

They sat around Harry's bed, all unsure of what to say until Ginny broke the silence. "Well?"

"Well what?" Ron asked.

Ginny rolled her eyes, sighing. "Well what did you guys find out? Did we get any Death Eaters, or did they all escape?"

"Oh," said Ron. "We didn't catch much but from what little bit dad told mum, three were too injured to leave and they'll be sent to Azkaban."

"And?" Harry asked. He could tell Ron was holding something back and from the look on Hermione's face, it wasn't pretty.

"Dad said that Hestia Jones didn't make it." Ron hesitated. Then seeming to gather the courage, he went on. "Four Death Eaters were killed. A couple of new recruits dad didn't know the names of, and Theodore Nott."

Ginny gasped and snuggled closer against Harry's chest. He squeezed her shoulder's, trying to think of something to say but coming up short. While it was true that it was purely a kill in self defense type of situation, and that he must have been a Death Eater, Nott _was_ a student. Someone who took the same classes as them, ate in the same Great Hall, and took the same tests.

"But...wasn't Nott the guy who was always alone?" Harry asked numbly, after a few minutes.

Ron nodded. "He was. Until today, I thought he was too smart to join You-Know-Who, even if he was a Slytherin. He never even joined that filthy little ferret's gang."

"You don't think he was under the Imperius, do you?" Ginny asked, her face white. Harry's own stomach threatened to turn over at the thought that he might have been responsible for killing an innocent classmate.

"I don't think so Ginny," said Hermione. "Look at all the factors involved. The attack on Headquarters was too important for them to involve the Imperius Curse. What if he somehow broke free of it and warn somebody?"

"Then why was he there?" Ron challenged.

"It's quite obvious, isn't it? Nott's father was arrested at the Department of Mysteries. Maybe he joined Voldemort for revenge," said Hermione.

"Voldemort probably told him that if he joined the Death Eater ranks, he would break his dad out of Azkaban," Harry said.

Ginny nodded. "But why would he bother with getting Nott to be a Death Eater and waste time convincing him?"

Harry shrugged. "It's the way Voldemort recruits. With promises of power, riches, and revenge. Once they join, it doesn't take them long to realize they can't back out."

"Didn't the same thing happen to Sirius' brother?" Ginny asked. "I remember hearing Sirius saying something about that."

"Yeah. It was his brother, Regulus. He became a Death Eater and tried to get out but Voldemort killed him personally. I..." Harry trailed off. All of a sudden he remembered staring at the Black family tapestry while Professor Lupin was talking to him. One line lead off Mrs. Black until it separated in two. One went to Sirius and the other to—

"Regulus Arcturus Black," Harry whispered aloud. Then he broke into a smile and turned to Ron and Hermione. "That's who did it."

"Did what?" Ron asked gently as if he was talking to a mental person. "Are you sure you're okay mate?"

"R.A.B." Harry practically yelled. "It's Sirius' brother. He was the one who stole the Horcrux. It has to be him."

Instead of the excited glint in his friend's eyes that Harry had expected both of them looked horrified. Confused, Harry looked around until he saw that they were both glancing in Ginny's direction. Of course they didn't know that Ginny had already heard about Horcruxes.

"It's alright guys," Harry said. "She overheard one of us talking about them a week ago."

To Harry's surprise, Hermione turned to Ron and slapped him on the arm. "I told you to keep your voice down Ron. There's no telling how many people who heard us because you couldn't talk like a normal person."

At the look on Ron's face, Harry wanted to laugh so badly that it hurt. Ginny buried her face in his shoulder and from the way she was shaking he could tell she was giggling. He decided to have a little fun before revealing the truth.

"Come on Hermione," Harry said trying not to smile. "Give him a break. With the way we kept talking about it in the common room, someone was bound to overhear us. We should just have been a little more careful, is all."

"You're right Harry. But Ron should still learn not to shout like a baboon and talk like civilized person. Hogwarts should offer a class on manners."

"You really think that Hermione?" Harry asked. When she nodded he finally decided to smile. "Well then I guess I better sign you up for one because Ginny overheard you, not Ron."

Both of his friend's mouths dropped open. Ron's in glee and Hermione's in horror. Finally Ron turned to her, grinning. What he said, Harry didn't hear. He was busy laughing so hard that his leg started hurting. After he and Ginny finally caught their breath, he looked up to see Ron still grinning while Hermione looked sheepish.

"I walked right into that, didn't I?" Hermione asked. When all three of them nodded, she turned to Ron. "I'm sorry Ron. It's just with all that's been happening lately, I kind of took it out on you. Forgive me?"

"Sure," Ron said, although his face fell. Harry figured it was because Hermione apologized so quickly and had took away any fun Ron might have. "But you owe me one."

Hermione nodded, smiling again. Harry wanted to yell at them to go ahead and snog each other senseless and get it over with, but he held his tongue. It might take awhile but they would eventually get there on their own.

"Hermione?" Ginny said startling Hermione. When the other girl turned around Ginny went on. "Earlier you said that four Death Eaters were killed. Two we didn't know, and Nott. Who was the last one?"

"They never found out. Apparently, the fourth person disappeared."

"What? How can a body just disappear?" Harry asked.

Ron and Hermione shared a glance. Hermione stepped forward and started fiddling with the sheet on Harry's bed before looking up. "Well, that's the strange thing, isn't it? According to what Mr. Weasley was saying, they counted four bodies but when they finally came around to identify them, one was missing."

"Could they have just miscounted them?" Ginny asked.

It was Ron who answered. "Mum asked the same thing. Dad says that three Order members and two Aurors all remember transporting four bodies to the Ministry."

Any more questions Harry had were interrupted by shouting coming from the corridor outside his room. He was tempted to ask Hermione to put a silencing charm on the door but then he recognized one of the voices. As many times as he had awoken under her care and in her hospital, Harry could recognize Madam Pomfrey anywhere.

"...I don't care what privileges you have as his healer, Nina."

"What's Madam Pomfrey doing here?" Ron asked but the others told him to be quiet so they could hear.

"Poppy, you simply can not walk unto my ward and take over my patients," the woman said who had to be Nina. "Not only is it unethical...it's barbaric."

Then Madam Pomfrey did something Harry had never heard her do. She snorted and replied in a sarcastic tone. "I'm sure you live up to the ethics of Mungo Bonham himself. If there was one thing that I always loved about you during our Healer apprenticeships, it was your undying loyalty to your patients."

Then without warning, the door to his room opened causing all four teens to jump. Madam Pomfrey barely noticed, as she was briskly striding to Harry's bed.

"I'm warning you Poppy. If you so much as lay a finger on my patient, I'll..." a plump woman said from the doorway. She looked to be the same age as Madam Pomfrey but that was where the similarities ended. While Madam Pomfrey never did look gentle, compared to the woman standing in the doorway, she looked to be as nice as someones grandmother.

The healer, Nina, had her hair pulled back in a braided pony tail that didn't move an inch as her head swung around. Her lip was curled up and Harry expected to see foam coming out of the woman's mouth any second. She was looking at Madam Pomfrey with such hatred, that Harry worried she might be one of the long term patients instead of a healer.

"You'll do what Nina?" Madam Pomfrey asked, glaring at the woman. "In case you have forgotten, Mr. Potter is an underage wizard and, as such, he must have a guardian or parent make his medical decisions for him. I am here to fill that role until he's back home to his family."

Nina ground her teeth and stared back with a look that would rival Snape's. Her hand twitch, and for one second Harry thought she was going to draw her wand and hex Madam Pomfrey. But then she spat, "You'll regret this Poppy," and was gone. The door swung shut, the room failing back into silence.

Madam Pomfrey huffed, and then stepped up to Harry's bed. "Mr. Potter," she said nodding. She pulled out her wand and ran a series of tests. After a few minutes, his curiosity got the better of him.

"Mrs. Pomfrey?"

"Yes, Mr. Potter?" she asked, frowning at something as she ran her wand over his leg.

"Uh, I don't mean to sound rude but...er, what are you doing here? And how did you know I was here?"

A ghost of a smile crossed her face. "You may not have known, Mr. Potter but I _was_ a member of the Order. As for why I'm here, it's to get you out of this place and back to your relatives' house."

A million questions threatened to break from Harry's mouth, but it was Hermione who had caught the important part of Madam Pomfrey's answer.

"Excuse me Madam Pomfrey," said Hermione looking thoughtful. "But what did you mean by, _was in the Order_?"

Madame Pomfrey shook her head, continuing to examine Harry's leg. "Very perceptive Mrs. Granger, but we do not have the time to discuss it now. I believe everything will be explained to you as soon as we leave."

Harry exchanged a look with Hermione. Did this mean that the Order had been disbanded? Did Dumbledore's death cause enough of an impact to tear the resistance into pieces.? From the look on his friend's face, she was thinking along the same lines. Harry was brought out of his thoughts by Ginny.

She had moved away from Harry's side and was now standing next to Madame Pomfrey. They both were examining a white light that was glowing above his knee. Ginny pointed at something in the light that Harry couldn't see from his angle, and asked, "What does purple crack mean Mrs. Pomfrey? Is Harry's leg still broken?"

Nodding, Madame Pomfrey flicked her wand, causing the image to magnify. "Excellent question Mrs. Weasley. I was thinking the same thing. Apparently, the Healer in charge of Mr. Potter did not do a thorough enough job. When you're working with Skele-Gro, the bone regrowth needs to be monitored every hour."

"A Bone-Straightening charm to fix it then?"

Now Madame Pomfrey smiled. "Precisely. I've said it once Mrs. Weasley, and I'll keep saying it until you change your mind. You'd make an excellent Healer. I'd take you on as an apprentice myself."

Ginny blushed and mumbled a thanks and something about talking about it later. Harry studied her face and realized two things. She really did want to be a healer and yet she was embarrassed about it. Deciding to have a talk about it with her later, Harry reached for her arm. He pulled her unto the bed and gave her a kiss.

"Ugh! Do you really have to do that in front of me?" Ron asked looking disgusted yet grinning at the same time.

Hermione however, was a different story. Surprising Harry and Ron both, she burst into tears. "Hermione? What's the matter?"

She looked between Harry and Ginny and in a flash was across the bed hugging the two of them. "Oh, Harry. It's about time you realized how stupid you were being," he heard her whisper. A week ago Harry would probably have yelled at her but now, looking into Ginny's amused eyes, he had to admit Hermione was right. It had been very stupid to break up with Ginny. Luckily he had another chance, and this time he was going to do it right.

Madam Pomfrey coughed politely. "We don't have much time. I need to straighten your tibia bone Mr. Potter. There will be some pain but only for a second. Are you ready?"

Harry nodded. Madame Pomfrey raised her wand and waved it above his leg. A blue light surrounded his leg from the knee all the way down to his ankle. It condensed on his skin and a second later there was a tug somewhere inside his leg, followed by a sharp pain. Biting his lip to keep from yelling, or worse, cursing, Harry watched as the light slowly faded. As soon as the light was gone, so was the pain. Taking a deep breath, Harry looked up to see Ginny smiling. She squeezed his hand and kissed him on the forehead.

Madam Pomfrey once again, ran her wand over Harry's leg. This time when the white light appeared, she seemed satisfied. "Well, Mr. Potter. Normally, I wouldn't want you out of bed for another couple of hours, but it is quite urgent we leave."

Harry stood up and gently tested his weight. Satisfied that everything was alright he hurried into the small bathroom on the side of his room. While he was inside changing out of the St. Mungo's hospital gown, he could hear Hermione talking with Mrs. Pomfrey.

"If you don't mind my asking Madam Pomfrey, what's the hurry?"

Madam Pomfrey tried to whisper but it carried across the room anyway. "All I can say now, is that we must get out of here before certain people realize Mr. Potter is here."

"Why did that Nina woman look like she wanted to strangle you by the neck," Ron asked. For a second Harry thought his friend had gone too far, but surprisingly Madame Pomfrey answered.

"Healer Nordine and I were at Hogwarts together. We were never friendly but during our seventh year, she did something that I will never forget nor forgive."

Harry was done changing, but he stayed in the bathroom a little longer. His curiosity had grown. He wanted to hear the rest of Madame Pomfrey's story and he was afraid that if he came out, she wouldn't finish.

"What happened?" asked Ginny.

"During our fifth year Nina, a few other girls, and I all chose to pursue a position in the medical field. The other girls ended up choosing to be medi-wizards. Nina and I wanted to be healers so we served our apprenticeship under the Hogwarts Healer during our seventh year," Madame Pomfrey paused for a minute, but then she continued.

"One night I was in the nurse's office. She left to help a dorm room full of boys who had somehow been jinxed so that they couldn't get out of bed. While she was gone she wanted me to look over the potion stocks and see if we needed to have the Potions Professor brew a fresh batch. I was almost done when I heard a strange noise out in the hospital wing."

"When I went out I saw Nina kneeling over a first year boy, forcing him to drink a potion, which was unusual since the only reason he was in the hospital wing was because he had made a mistake in Potions and had turned his skin bright yellow. When I confronted her about it, Nina tried to deny it but I could smell the potion coming from the boy's bed."

"What was it?" Ginny asked. Harry could tell from the sound of her voice that Madam Pomfrey had her hooked. He had to admit that he himself was finding the story interesting.

"Forgetfulness Potion."

"Well that's not very bad is it?" Hermione asked. "I mean i know it's wrong to force someone to drink a potion, but it doesn't sound like something to harbor hate over."

"True Mrs. Granger. However, when I made her show me her hands there were two empty bottles. One had drops of the Forgetfulness Potion and the other had remnants of a clear, odorless potion."

Hermione gasped, and when she spoke she sounded horrified. "She didn't! It's dangerous to use under the best circumstances. But on a child, it can be deadly."

"What are you guys talking about?" asked Ron.

"Veritaserum Ron! When Nina used it on the first year she could have killed him," Hermione said. "But why would she want to use it on the boy in the first place Madam Pomfrey?"

"I didn't find out until later," said Madam Pomfrey heavily. "By the time the Hogwarts nurse returned, Nina had vanished the bottles and since the boy had no memory of it in the first place I had no proof of what she did. A week after that I found out that the boy was the younger brother of a seventh year that was quite popular. So you see why I can't stand Healer Nordine? She risked the health of an eleven year old boy just to find out if his brother fancied anyone."

Madame Pomfrey stopped and there was silence for a minute. Then she cleared her throat. "We really need to be going. I've already wasted too much time. You can come out now Mr. Potter. Unless you somehow managed to cast a Confundus Charm on yourself, I know you're properly dressed by now."

Harry stepped out of the bathroom looking sheepish. He didn't bother saying anything because he knew that whatever came out of his mouth would sound stupid. The five of them went out the door and into the hall. He recognized the floor from his fifth year. A few wards down, was the place where Neville's parents and Gilderoy Lockhart stayed.

Following the others to the stairs, Harry was the first to hear the roar of voices. He turned around to see a pack of reporters running at him, while Healer Nordine stood at the front desk sneering.

"Potter! Is it true that you've been declared mentally insane?"

"Harry, hey Harry! Is one of those lovely ladies your girlfriend? Or maybe it's the portly, elderly witch. Just what is your preference?"

"Are you here to visit your favorite professor Mr. Potter."

And then came the one that almost caused him to rush towards the reporters and strangle the short balding man who was grinning madly. "What was it like watching Dumbledore die? Did he beg for his life?"

If Madame Pomfrey hadn't grabbed him by the arm and practically threw him into the stairwell, there was no telling what Harry would have done to the last reporter. The casual way the man had mentioned Professor Dumbledore's death got under his skin more than anything else they could have thrown at him.

"Hurry!" Madame Pomfrey hissed, pushing him down the stairs. Harry ran after Ron, Hermione and Ginny. They were almost down to the second floor, when the door a flight above them opened and the reporters barged in. From the way the Hogwarts Nurse was wheezing by the time they reached the ground floor, Harry was afraid she wasn't going to make it. But when he tried to slow down and help her, she just pushed him ahead yelling something about going quicker.

They burst out of the stairwell on the ground floor, startling the blond haired witch sitting behind the reception desk.

"C-can...you apparate...Mr. P-potter?" Madame Pomfrey gasped as they headed for the Apparition checkpoint. When Harry nodded she looked relieved.

"You take Ron, Hermione and I'll take Ginny," Harry whispered, so his best mate wouldn't overhear. The last thing Harry wanted was for Ron to make a scene about not needing help.

They were almost the checkpoint, when Harry realized something. "Where are we going Mrs. Pomfrey? The Dursleys?"

Madame Pomfrey seemed to have caught her breath now that they weren't running down the stairs. "Not yet. Minerva wanted to see you before you lot went back. As for you Mrs. Weasley, I believe Arthur will be there to pick you up as well. So imagine the front gates if you will."

Finally making it to the safe arrival and departure point for Apparition, Harry waited until he was sure Madame Pomfrey, Ron, and Hermione were gone before grabbing Ginny's hand. Right before he Apparated he heard a reporter shout one last question.

"Witch Weekly, Harry. Our readers want to know most is, What size trainers do you wear?"

Ginny started giggling hysterically against his chest. Frowning and blushing as red as her hair, he pulled her closer and turned, disappearing from St. Mungo's reception area and heading for the place he had thought he wouldn't see again. Full of great memories and some bad ones, Hogwarts was waiting ahead of the darkness for Ginny and him both.


	6. Fall of Order, Rise of DA

**Chapter 6 - Fall of Order, Rise of DA**

Madam Pomfrey led them across the grounds. Shadows stretched across the castle. Harry hadn't realized it was already so late, which meant he must have slept most of the day. Without saying a word, the four teens followed the Hogwarts Nurse inside the castle and through the entrance hall to the staircase. They started climbing the marble steps. Harry almost turned off on one floor and head towards the Transfiguration classroom before he remembered that Professor McGonagall resided in the Headmistress office now.

They finally reached the gargoyle and Madam Pomfrey gave the password with a twitch of her lips. "_Tartan Feline_"

Harry, Ginny, Ron, and Hermione all smiled. It was the perfect password for their old Transfiguration Professor. As they approached the oak door with the griffin knocker, loud voices were coming from inside.

"I for one, believe he is more than capable of leading it," said a voice that Harry recognized as Kingsley Shacklebolt. "After all it was—"

Madam Pomfrey pushed the door open, effectively silencing the Headmistress' office. A large wooden table, similar to the tables in the Great Hall, only smaller, was placed on the outside of Professor McGonagall's desk. Harry was surprised to see nearly all of the Weasleys sitting around it, minus Mrs. Weasley who was still at St. Mungo's and Percy, of course.

Fleur Delacour sat next to Bill, grinning at Harry. Kingsley, who had stopped talking was sitting next to Professor McGonagall watching the new arrivals. The Headmistress herself, sat at the head of the table looking older than Harry had ever seen her.

Professors Flitwick and Sprout were also seated at the table. He briefly wondered what they were doing there. He had thought this was going to be an Order meeting, but as far as he knew, neither the Charms or Herbology Professors were members. Deciding that the Headmistress knew what she was doing, Harry glanced around.

"It is good to see you doing well Mr. Potter," Professor McGonagall stated. Everyone else nodded, a few stating similar thoughts.

Harry mumbled thank you to them and went over to Hagrid, with Hermione following him, while Ron and Ginny went to greet Charlie. Madam Pomfrey headed straight to Professor McGonagall. Hagrid was standing by the window looking out on the grounds. He turned as they approached and gave them both a hug strong enough to crack ribs.

"Alright 'Arry, Hermione?" Hagrid asked beaming at them. He winked at Harry. "Heard 'bout yeh fightin' them death eaters. Dont'cha know not ter go lookin' fer trouble?"

"But―" Harry started to say but Hagrid stopped him by thumping him on the shoulder hard enough to make him stagger backwards.

Laughing, Hagrid pulled Harry back and steadied him. "Jus' kiddin' Harry. I know yeh don't go lookin' fer it. Fer some reason, it seems ter find you. I'm jus' glad to see yeh and the others, made it out 'lright."

"Thanks Hagrid," Harry said, rubbing his shoulder. He was tempted to ask Madam Pomfrey for some bruise removing potion. "Everything been going okay at Hogwarts?"

"Jus' fine so far. O' course, Buckbeak hasn't been feelin' too good. I don' know how, but I think he mus' have ate some of Professor's Sprout Hellebore. Poor beast was sick all night."

"Is he going to be okay?" asked Hermione.

"Oh sure. He's 'lready back to his normal self. Jus' this mornin' we went out to the lake. Buckbeak sure loves to catch fish while flying 'cross the water," Hagrid said wistfully. "But enough 'bout that. Have yeh two heard why we gotta meet here?"

Both Harry and Hermione shook their head, but Hermione answered. "All we know is that Madame Pomfrey said something about leaving the Order. Has it disbanded?"

"Sorta," said Hagrid looking back out the window. "If Dumbledore knew what was goin' on, he'd be ashamed is all I know. But s'long as there's a reason I plan ter keep fightin'."

Harry was about to ask what Dumbledore would be ashamed of when Professor McGonagall shot sparks out of her wand to get everyone's attention. While Hagrid stayed by the window, the chairs were to small for him, Harry and Hermione went and sat by the Weasleys.

"We're still a few people short but we must begin," Professor McGonagall said looking at each of them from the top of her glasses. "We need to come to a decision on what our best course of action is. Any ideas?"

Hermione's hand shot up. "Please ma'am. Can you tell us what we're talking about?"

Professor McGonagall looked shocked for a moment then nodded. "My apologies Mrs. Granger. In all of today's, shall I say _excitement_, I forgot that you, Mr. Potter and the Weasleys have not heard about what has happened with the Order."

She looked around the table. Even those who had apparently heard the story already were waiting patiently for her to begin. "Very well. After Albus' funeral the Order had a meeting to decide a new leader. I was voted the new leader, but chose to decline due to my new responsibilities as Headmistress. Honestly, I'll never know how Albus managed to do so much."

"Being the second highest in votes, Alastor was chosen as the leader. Needless to say, his first order of business wasn't approved by those around this table."

"What happened?" Harry asked. As far as he knew, Moody would have made a great leader. But then again he had never really got to know the real Moody.

Professor McGonagall looked at them gravely. "He went straight to Minister Scrimgeour."

"What?" screamed Harry, jumping up. "How could he go to that spineless imp? He didn't agree to work with him, did he?"

"I'm afraid so Mr. Potter. Alastor thinks that for us to win this war, we need to side with the Ministry. As you have already told the Minister, as long as they keep imprisoning people and use other dirty tricks to make it look like they are achieving something, those of us in this room refuse to work along side him."

Harry, shocked that she knew what he had told the Minister, didn't know what to say for a moment so he sat back down. Luckily, Hermione saved him.

"Does that mean the Order has been officially disbanded?"

Kingsley shifted in his chair, clearing his throat. "Actually, the Minister made it official. Gave Mad-Eye a whole wing, devoted to the Order of the Phoenix. He wants to give the appearance that he's beefing up security."

Mr. Weasley nodded. "True, but that's not the only thing he's trying to show by absorbing the Order into the Ministry. Somehow a story _accidentally_ leaked out about Dumbledore restarting the Order and leading it when Voldemort came back. Now he wants the public to think that he's essentially joined forces with Dumbledore, or rather, what's left of Dumbledore's militia."

"Well that's not necessarily bad is it?" asked Ron. When everyone turned to him, he gulped. "I mean, uh, well isn't it good to have the wizarding world think that the Ministry is in control?"

"Mr. Weasley," Professor McGonagall began, her tone back into teaching mode. "While true that declaring himself in alliance with the Order will give the appearance of control, what has the Ministry actually done to fight back against V-Voldemort?"

Ron's face whitened at being the center of attention again. "Uhm, nothing I suppose."

"Correct. And why do you think it would be a bad idea for the wizard and witches in Brittan to believe the Minister has things under control?"

Staring at his hands, Ron thought for a moment. When he raised his head he looked apprehensive. "Because, then they wouldn't be on their guard as much?"

Professor McGonagall smiled. "Very good Mr. Weasley. It is safe to assume that you are right and, since the Minister is not currently doing much more than worrying about the Ministry of Magic's image, we would not stand a chance if Voldemort decided to attack."

There was silence in the room as everyone thought about what would happen now that one of Voldemort's greatest enemies was dead. Harry took the time to glance around the room. Most of the portraits of past headmaster's and headmistress' weren't even bothering to pretend at sleeping. He noticed a blank spot on the wall right behind Professor McGonagall's desk. He figured that once Dumbledore's portrait was completed, that it would hang there.

Staring at the dead witches and wizards, Harry suddenly felt lonely. He wanted to reach out and hold Ginny's hand, but she was sitting a few chairs away, with Hermione and Ron separating them. As if sensing his stare, Ginny turned her head. She gave him a soft smile, and gazed into his eyes.

When Professor McGonagall began a minute later both reluctantly turned away to listen. "Now, as I was saying earlier, we have a few decisions that need to be made. If anyone has any ideas, please speak up."

Hermione once again raised her hand. Harry had to hide his smile. Even when she wasn't in class, Hermione couldn't contain her enthusiasm, as she was slightly bouncing in her chair. When Professor McGonagall called on her, she stood up.

"I was thinking that the first thing we need to do is form another organization to continue on what the Order was doing before Dumbledore was killed."

Charlie nodded. "That sounds about right. Have any idea what to call this new Order and who should lead it?"

For some odd reason, Hermione looked absolutely frightened at this question and glanced at Harry. And to further Harry's confusion she apprehensively looked into his eyes before turning back to the table.

"As a matter of fact I do. But first, I want everyone to promise to hear me out," said Hermione seriously. She went around the table calling on everyone to give their oath for her to finish, starting with Harry. Finally when Ron had given the oath, Hermione continued.

"I already have the perfect name for the new Order. As for the new leader, well, I was thinking that we needed someone who knows how Voldemort thinks."

Harry glanced around, trying to figure out who Hermione was talking about. While Professor McGonagall would make a great Headmistress, he really couldn't see her leading a militia group. The same applied to Mr. Weasley. So that only left three people he thought she could be talking about. Bill, Charlie, or Kingsley Shacklebolt. While any one of the three might be good, he figured Kingsley would be the best choice.

He was so busy thinking about who Hermione was talking about that he missed the fact that she had been staring at him the whole time she was talking. Slowly everyone else followed her gaze, and looks of comprehension dawned on their faces. Still Harry didn't notice, until Hermione spoke again.

"Someone who's dealt with him more than anyone else at this table, including a few duels against him. Someone who has experience training a defense group underneath watchful eyes," Hermione finished loudly startling Harry out of his thoughts.

He looked up, startled to see everyone gazing at him with thoughtful expressions. A second later, what Hermione had been saying sunk in. He straightened up, about to protest but Hermione simply held her hand up. "Remember, you promised to let me finish Harry."

Harry slumped back into his chair, mentally cursing her with every jinx he could think of. Where in bloody hell did she get off thinking he would make a good leader? Not only did people die around him, but the only time he had ever led someone else into battle, it had been a trap. Well sure they had all made it out alive. But that had been plain luck and the timely arrival of the Order more than anything else. He looked up and realized Hermione was speaking again.

"Harry would be the perfect leader. He knows Voldemort better than any the rest of us, not to mention that he survived a one on one duel with him." Hermione paused, thinking for a moment before continuing. "Plus there's the fact that he was an excellent leader when he was training the DA. Which by the way is what our new name could be. It fits perfectly. _Dumbledore's Army_."

Then Hermione sat down, shocking a few people with her abrupt end. Seeing that Hermione was done and that he could tell her what he thought about her idea, Harry started to do just that but someone else beat him to it.

"Brilliant!" Fred cried, clapping his hands together. "With Harry as our leader―"

"Old bean Voldemort won't stand a chance," said George.

Then astonishing him even further, if that was possible, Kingsley stood up. "You see Minerva. It seems I was not the only one who thought Mr. Potter should be our new leader. You yourself said that Dumbledore and he were working on a project before he died. So Mr. Potter must know more about the Dark Lord, than the rest of us."

Professor McGonagall slowly nodded. "As much as I hate putting so much on the shoulders of a young man, I do believe Mr. Potter is the best choice. Well, then shall we put this to a vote?"

Up until then Harry had been numbly watching them talking about him as if wasn't even in the office. He stood up. "Wait a minute. What makes everyone think I want to be the leader of the new DA? I'm going to be too busy to―"

Hermione put a hand on his elbow. "Exactly. That's my point Harry. We'll be busy this summer and before we're done with our task we'll probably need some help. You do know that when the time comes, Voldemort won't fight alone."

Harry wanted so badly to yell at her that he didn't want the responsibility, but as much as he hated it, she was right. After destroying all of the Horcruxes, Harry would have to face Voldemort. When that time came, he would need someone to take care of the Death Eaters. Who better than ex-members of a secret militia? Still, that didn't mean he had to be the one to lead it.

Harry tried to point this out to them. "Wouldn't Kingsley be a better choice? He runs a department of Aurors for Merlin's sake."

Kingsley shrugged. "Normally you'd be right Mr. Potter, but this particular war is unique. I think it's time we have a young man's perspective on what our strategy should be. After all, James was barely a year older than you when he joined the Order and yet Dumbledore values his opinion just as much as anyone else."

Hearing about his dad fighting in the original Order, more than anything else, was what changed his mind. Harry sat back down, and let the others vote. After all he could just be worrying about it for nothing. Maybe someone would get elected as leader. But when Professor McGonagall collected everyone's scraps of parchment, it didn't take her long to announce that it was unanimous.

After grudgingly accepting the congratulations from everyone, Harry had Hermione explain her fake Galleons, which would be used to set meetings from now on. After Hermione had created some fake coins and charmed them she started passing them out.

"Excellent work, indeed, Mrs. Granger," Professor Flitwick said after accepting his Galleon. "Even the most advanced students have trouble with the Protean charm. But I don't recognize this particular signature. Did you create an original variation, perhaps?"

Hermione blushed. "Yes professor. I took the original charm and modified it so it acts like the Dark Mark." When Professor Flitwick raised an eyebrow, Hermione explained. "Now it will only work when Harry sets the meetings. Even if someone was to get his Galleon it won't work unless Harry uses it himself."

"Ah, I see. Have you ever thought about becoming an Unspeakable? I dare say, you'd be one of the best. It was unfortunate you were not placed in Ravenclaw."

Hermione smiled, and after passing out a coin to everyone in the room she sat back down. Harry leaned over. "Hermione? The original DA coins won't work with these will they?"

"Oh no. I used a completely different magic signature on these," Hermione whispered back.

Professor McGonagall cleared her throat. "Mr. Potter, if I may. I suggest we call a close to this meeting and wait until every member is in attendance before discussing anything important."

Harry agreed and told everyone that he would set a meeting sometime the next week. He, Hermione, and Ron said goodbye to everyone. As soon as Hagrid shuffled out the door, they shared a look.

One of the things Hermione had mentioned the night before had been that they needed at least one other person to know about the Horcruxes. Not only could that person have ideas of where to find one, but maybe the knowledge to destroy it. It didn't take the three long to agree that Professor McGonagall was the best choice to confide the secret of Voldemort's immortality.

"Professor McGonagall? We have something we need to discuss with you," Hermione said, helping her old Transfiguration teacher banish the table and chairs. "Do you have the next hour free?"

Looking a little confused, yet interested Professor McGonagall nodded. She walked around her desk and sat down, clasping her hands together.

The three took chairs in front of her desk. Ron and Hermione turned to Harry, expecting him to be the one to talk. Hoping he wasn't betraying Dumbledore's trust by telling someone else, Harry decided not to beat around the bush. "Do you know what a Horcrux is, ma'am?"

Professor McGonagall gave a surprised gasp. Her eyes wide, she clutched her chest. "Yes, I do Mr. Potter. The better question is where have you heard of them?"

"From Professor Dumbledore," said Harry quietly. "It was what we were studying all last year?"

"Does that mean what I think it does?" the Headmistress asked heavily. "Did Voldemort make a Horcrux? The knowledge of how to make one hasn't been written down in centuries."

"Well he must have found out somehow because he made six." Harry could have sworn he heard her hiss. Considering what her Animagus form was, he figured he hadn't been imagining it.

"S-six?" she gasped. " But is that even possible. It's bad enough to split your soul once, but six times? And how would you know this?"

Hermione answered. "Professor Dumbledore had Harry get a memory from one of the teachers, who Tom Riddle had asked about Horcruxes. He thought that since seven is the most powerful, magical number he would split his soul into seven pieces."

"A teacher?" asked Professor McGonagall. "But who would be so stupid to...Horace. I always knew that man's over zealousness would hurt someone. Surely he wasn't dim enough to tell Mr. Riddle how to make them?"

Trying not to look surprised that she had guess the teacher so quickly Harry shook his head. "No, he just mentioned what they were. Voldemort must have found out somewhere else."

From there, he explained everything that Dumbledore had shown him. From the first memory to finding out that the locket had been fake. Even Professor McGonagall couldn't think of a reason why Professor Dumbledore had sent the Horcrux to Mrs. Dursley.

"But what I don't quite understand is the letter he wrote to Harry's aunt," said Hermione. She pulled it out and let the Headmistress read it. "It sounds as if he already knows he's going to die."

Finishing the letter, Professor McGonagall waited a minute to think. "That is rather unusual Mrs. Granger. As much as I don't like the idea that Albus didn't tell us, it does seem like he knew his end was near."

"You don't think he did it to give Harry the same protection, Harry's mum gave him do you?" Ron asked, finally breaking his silence. "I mean, it does sound similar."

"I don't think so, Mr. Weasley. For one, Albus said that kind of protection came from a blood relative. Also, he didn't really die protecting Mr. Potter. From what it sounded like, Mr. Potter wasn't in danger when Severus used the killing curse."

Harry stood up and went to the same window Hagrid had been standing at. Looking out over the dark grounds, a small part of him wanted to break down. Albus Dumbledore may have been the greatest wizard of their age, the one who defeated Grindelwald, but to Harry he had been a friend. Even after fifth year, their friendship was strong as ever. All that it proved was that Professor Dumbledore made mistakes, just like everyone else.

A hand fell on his shoulder, squeezing softly. Harry turned around expecting to see Hermione, as she was one who comforted by touching, whereas Ron figured a clap on the back was good enough. Instead, he was shocked to see Professor McGonagall standing there, gazing at him with sympathy in her eyes.

"I miss him too Harry," she said simply, but it was enough. A sudden wave of gratitude towards his old Transfiguration teacher, swept through him. It served to remind him that he still had someone at Hogwarts who he could trust. Hogwarts may have lost a great Headmaster but it would gain an equally brilliant Headmistress.

"Uhm, Professor?" asked Harry. He realized that he didn't even know if the school would be open next year. "Have you heard if the governors are going to close Hogwarts?"

Taking her hand of his shoulder, Professor McGonagall shook her head. "I'm afraid not Mr. Potter. So far they are waiting to see what the parents would have them do. As though as I hate to see it, I may well see the closing of the Hogwarts' Gates."

When she turned to go back to her desk, Harry stopped her. "I do have one more question."

Turning to face him, Professor McGonagall arched an eyebrow. "Just the one?" she said eerily reminding him of Dumbledore.

"When I was at St. Mungo's, Ron and Hermione told me about the Death Eaters," said Harry. He paused trying to think of how best to ask his question.

"I guess I don't need to know how those two heard," Professor McGonagall said, her lips twitching against a smile. "After all, Mr. Weasley is related to the infamous Weasley Twins, and once Mrs. Granger puts her mind to something she doesn't give up until she has the answers."

Harry grinned. It was a very accurate description of Ron and Hermione. "Well, Ron mentioned that four Death Eaters were killed but that one of them was..."

"Missing?" asked Professor McGonagall. "I must say, I'm surprised you three lasted this long without asking about it. Let's go back, so I don't have to repeat myself for the benefit of Mr. Weasley and Mrs. Granger."

Surprised that she was so forthcoming, Harry followed her back to her desk. Ron and Hermione, who had been arguing about something, broke off and looked at Harry questioningly. Harry shook his head and indicated Professor McGonagall.

After the Headmistress settled herself in her chair, she folded her hands on top of the desk. "As you know, the Aurors counted four fallen Death Eaters. The bodies were transported to the Ministry, to be identified. The Aurors immediately headed back to Grimmauld Place to help with the prisoners. When a Ministry employee, assigned the task of putting a name to each body, began he thought there had been a mistake with the paperwork, as there were just three bodies."

Professor McGonagall hesitated for a second before continuing. "Right before tonights meeting, Mr. Shacklebolt informed me that something had been stolen from the Department of Mysteries. He couldn't find out what, but according to him the Minister did not take it well. It could―"

"You think it was their plan from the beginning?" Harry asked.

"I do not know Mr. Potter. Perhaps so, but Aurors are trained to take the victims pulse as any life scanning charms can be fooled. It would take something, which imitates death."

Hermione sat chewing on her lip. After a minute her eyes widened. "Harry! Do you remember? What do you get when you add powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?"

"There you go again!" Ron cried, throwing his arms in the air. "Just tell us already Hermione."

Hermione crossed her arms glaring at Ron. " I was talking about Draught of Living Death, Ronald."

Harry remembered the first time he came face to face with the Potions Master. That had been of Snape's questions that Harry didn't know the answer to. "You know, I think Hermione's on to something."

"What? That we need to start revising now if we want to pass our Newts?" Ron asked innocently. "After all, only eleven months left."

"Well excuse me, if Quidditch and food is not the only two things on my mind," Hermione said hotly.

"Oh yeah? Well at least I don't go around thinking I'm smarter than everyone," Ron said just as angry. "You act like any the rest of us don't know how to tie our shoes."

"You know I don't think that," said Hermione with a lowered voice.

"Yeah, well, sometime you make me feel that way."

Harry caught Professor McGonagall's eye, all of sudden feeling like he was intruding. From the way the Headmistress kept looking anywhere but at her two students, he figured she thought the same.

Finally after another few minutes of the two arguing Harry said, "Will you two please shut it for a minute? We're trying to think here."

Smiling, Professor McGonagall nodded. "Well said Mr. Potter."

Hermione and Ron turned around. Then, as if they had completely forgotten where they were, they both blushed at the sound of Professor McGonagall's voice. Seeing that the two were done, Harry turned to the Transfiguration teacher.

"Would that work? Taking a small dose of Draught of Living Death, just enough to for an hour?"

"It might," Professor McGonagall said. "Although it would have to be a precise dosage. It would have to be someone with a extensive knowledge in Potions."

"Snape!" Harry, Ron, and Hermione all cried at the same time.

"But you are forgetting that surely one of the Aurors would have recognized Professor Snape," McGonagall pointed out.

Admitting that she was right, Harry tried to think of someone else who would have thought to do something so dangerous. It was a few minutes later when Ron's cry broke him out of his thoughts.

"That's it," Ron said triumphantly. "He used Polyjuice Potion. Then nobody would recognize him and he'd be sure to be taken to the Ministry. After all, it worked for us when―"

Ron broke off, looking horrified that he had almost mentioned breaking a ton of school rules in front of a professor, a very strict one at that. Other than a questioning look however, Professor McGonagall didn't say anything.

"That would work, wouldn't it?" asked Harry. "Snape took a small dose of the Draught of Living Death along with some Polyjuice Potion. Then he went to Grimmauld Place, where he knew that Aurors would eventually show up, and he would be taken to the Ministry. And after the potions wore off, all he had to do was grab whatever he wanted and leave."

"That is an excellent theory, but in any case, we have no need to worry about it now," Professor McGonagall said. She rose out of her chair. "I think it's time you three, get back to the Dursleys residence. Poppy warned me not to let you wear yourself out Mr. Potter."

She went to the bookshelf behind her desk, and tapped one of the books with her wand. Just like the brick wall in Diagon Alley, the books started moving, twisting themselves out of the way until a small archway was formed. Professor McGonagall told them to wait a minute, then left through the doorway.

"I've always wondered where the Headmaster, or Headmistress, quarters were," said Hermione in awe. "Of course, it only makes sense that it would be connected to this office. Did Professor Dumbledore ever show you Harry?"

"No. This is the first time I've ever seen it."

A few minutes later Professor McGonagall reappeared, followed by a floating trunk. She walked over and directed the trunk unto her desk. She flicked her wand, causing the lock to snap open. Behind them the books quickly arranged themselves, hiding the fact that there was a corridor behind them.

She pulled out a second trunk, this one about a fourth the size. She carefully set it on the desk, before turning back to them. She closed the large trunk and levitated it to Harry's feet.

"This, Mr. Potter, is all that was salvaged from Grimmauld Place. I'm afraid not much was left. However, there were quite a few books left undamaged. Most of them were protected by dark magic, but they all are safe to handle now. I had Bill Weasley have a look at them earlier."

Harry stared at the trunk, ignoring Hermione's excitement and Ron's grumbling about more research. After all that had happened that morning, actually all day for that matter, he had completely forgotten the reason he had went to Grimmauld Place in the first place. Now here was exactly what he had wanted. Books.

"Thanks," Harry mumbled.

After staring at him for a few seconds, Professor McGonagall spoke. "I will not tell anyone about the Horcruxes, Mr. Potter. Obviously, Albus must have known what he was doing when he didn't tell anyone other than you. Just remember I'm here if you need me."

Harry nodded while Hermione waved her wand, shrinking the trunk so that it would be easier to carry. The three said goodnight to the Headmistress and left her office. None of them said a word until they were out on the grounds, walking to the gate so that they could Apparate to the alley behind Number 4 Privet Drive.

"Exciting day, huh mate?" Ron asked laughing. "An attack by Death Eaters, Grimmauld Place burning down, finding out that the Order sided with the slimy Minister, and finding out that Snape's up to something. But you know what I reckon the worst part of it has to be?"

"What's that?" Harry asked, halfway paying attention. They had reached the gate, but he waited to see what Ron had to say.

Sounding way too happy, Ron quickly said. "Having the sex talk with Lupin."

Ron burst out laughing. For a second Hermione looked like she was about to scold him, but then she grinned giggling. Harry was glad it was dark so that they didn't see how red his face must be. Glowing from embarrassment, he pushed them both away.

Without even knowing where the courage came from, Harry decided to play with Ron's mind a little.

"Actually, I'm glad we did have it," he said. When Ron and Hermione refused to stop laughing, he decided to do it. "But I don't think I was anywhere near as happy as Ginny was."

Just like he knew it would that shut them up. Ron sounded like he was gagging as the laughter suddenly stopped, his face contorted in horror. Hermione didn't look much better, although her eyes were wide enough for a hippogriff to pass through.

Harry couldn't take it anymore. He laughed so hard, that he was afraid his side would burst. Finally, just when he was catching his breath he saw Ron straighten up. His best friend started walking towards him.

"I'm going to get you for that Potter," Ron snarled, lunging for him.

Grinning, Harry disapparated leaving his best friends behind. He decided that he would have to sleep with one eye open that night but he had to admit that seeing the look on Ron's and Hermione's face was worth it.


	7. Confrontations and Bargaining

**Chapter Seven – Confrontations and Bargaining**

The first night that the trio got back from Hogwarts didn't go exactly as planned. Instead of heading upstairs and crawling into bed, Harry ended up having to untangle Ron from one of Aunt Petunia's rose bushes. Although he didn't hear it from his friends mouth, Harry could guess what had happened.

Apparently, still a little upset with Hermione, Ron had chosen to Apparate himself. The fact that he had been mad at the time combined with him not knowing the destination very well, was all it took. Instead of appearing in the alley, Ron had Apparated a foot above the bush. Luckily he didn't splinch himself.

Harry had almost been to the back door, when he heard Ron scream. He turned around. All he could see in the darkness from the porch, was a shaking bush near the back fence. Hermione, pushed the back gate open, softly calling Ron's name. She stopped at the sight of a pair of arms waving madly from the bush. By the time Harry made it back out to them, Hermione was scolding Ron for his language.

"Hermione," Ron cried madly. "Will you please get me the bloody hell out of here?"

"Relax Ron," said Harry trying not to let his amusement at the situation show in his voice. "We'll have you out in a minute. Just stay put, will you?" He was dangerously close to laughing.

"Harry? You'd better hurry and get me out. There's still the fact that I have to kill you for what you did earlier," said Ron.

"Okay Ron," said Harry. "If you still insist on hurting me, then I guess I'd better leave you in there. Come on Hermione, let's go inside. We can come check on him in the morning."

"Well then goodnight Ron. I guess I'll―"

The bush started shaking worse. "Fine! I was just joking, Harry. Now, will someone _please_ get me out?"

Both grinning, Harry and Hermione somehow managed to untangle Ron. When he crawled out, the red head was covered with scratches. There was a deep one right above his eye that was seeping blood. "Remind me not to do that again."

"I don't think that you'll ever―"

"_BOY! What do you think you're doing?_"

Harry turned around.

Aunt Petunia stood on the back porch, clutching the front end of her dressing gown. She glared at them, opened her mouth to say something, but then her eyes fell on her rose bush. Rather, the torn remains of a bush. She marched out onto the lawn, her slippers soaking up the dew.

"My roses," Aunt Petunia muttered caressing a rose that had been snapped halfway off. "What did you freaks do to them?"

Harry was about to tell her it was an accident but Hermione beat him to it. "We're so sorry Mrs. Dursley. It was an accident. When Ron tried to Apparate he―"

Aunt Petunia snarled. "Quiet! Get inside the house before the neighbors wake up and hear you."

Hermione, however, still tried to help which was the wrong thing to do. She stepped forward, pulling out her wand. "Honestly Mrs. Dursley. It won't take long to fix it. All I have―"

Hissing Aunt Petunia's head whipped around looking to see if any of the neighbors saw Hermione's wand, even though it was the middle of the night, before turning to her. "Put that away you silly little girl. Just...just go!"

Harry grabbed Hermione by the elbow and started pulling her to the door. Ron followed and soon they were back in his room. For once, both Ron and Hermione seemed to realize that Harry didn't want to talk about his Aunt's behavior so they all got ready for bed without saying a word.

After everything that happened, Harry was exhausted but he couldn't sleep. After laying in bed for an hour, listening to Ron's guttural snores and Hermione's infrequent whimpers, he threw the sheets off his bed and got out. Carefully walking to the door, he slipped out of the room and went downstairs. Leaving the lights off, he sat down on the living room couch.

Hundreds of questions squirmed in his mind, wanting answers. Out of all the things he needed to know, it was something else that caught his attention. In fact, no one had mentioned it all day. Ever since he woke up, not one person had asked how he got the others out of Grimmauld Place. No one asked who's Phoenix had appeared.

Thinking back, however, Harry realized that the whole event had been confusing. Since when did a Phoenix talk? Singing, and the occasional chirp, was the only thing Fawkes had ever done.

Harry pushed aside the unsettling fact that he had had a conversation with a Phoenix for another, more important question. Just who's bird had it been? He remembered Dumbledore telling him that true loyalty would call a Phoenix, but Harry hadn't been thinking of anything other than wishing the pain would hurry up and end. The last person he thought of had been Ginny and he knew she didn't own one.

If there were any other logical explanation of how the four of them survived, Harry could just have imagined the black phoenix called Argos. Clearly the others thought that he had Apparated them to safety, as they had been unconscious at the time.

Harry eventually decided to mention it to Ron and Hermione. Maybe one of them would have a better answer. He was just about to stand and head back up when a shadow stepped into the doorway leading into the hallway.

"The old man finally get enough sense to throw you out of that freaky school?" Dudley said. He crossed his arms, leaning against the door jamb. "Or did you boyfriend break up with you? That's just what I need, listening to you moan his name all night, like last summer."

Harry walked around the couch, and leaned against it. "Shut it, Dud."

"Oh, hit a nerve did I?"

"Unlike you, _Duddykins_, I wasn't kicked out. I heard all about how you were finally caught beating up on the little kids."

Dudley straightened up. With the light from the hall behind him, Harry couldn't see his cousin's face but he would have guessed the big goon was trying his best to look menacing.

"If those other freaks weren't staying here, I'd teach you to keep your mouth shut," Dudley whispered harshly.

Harry almost laughed. He couldn't believe that the pile of blubber standing in the doorway had ever scared him. Of course, Dudley never really like to act unless he had a couple of his friends backing him up. With that thought, another clicked into place. Dudley and Malfoy were almost exactly alike. Except for the fact that he couldn't use magic, and that he wasn't rich, Dudley did almost all the same things Malfoy did. To put it bluntly, his cousin was a muggle version of Malfoy.

Surprised that he had never seen the similarities before, Harry started walking towards the door. He stopped a foot from his cousin. "Tell you what Big D," Harry said, taking his wand out and tossing it unto the little coffee table that sat next to Uncle Vernon's recliner. "We're alone, and I don't have my wand. I promise you that I won't let Ron and Hermione do anything to you afterwards. There's just one thing I want from you."

"What's that?" Dudley sneered. "To tie my hands together so a little wimp like you would have a fighting chance?"

"No actually. I just want your promise that when I'm done with you, you won't go to you mum and dad with some outrageous story about how my friends and I jumped you. Deal?" Harry asked holding out his hand.

When Dudley shook, Harry grinned. "By the way, we just made a wizard's oath. If you break it...well, let's just say it isn't pretty," Harry lied.

"Don't worry about me freak. When I'm done with you I'll―" Dudley abruptly broke off. There was a blur, then his fist was buried in Harry's stomach. "What's the matter? Did that hurt the little wimp?"

Gasping, Harry blocked out the pain. Compared to being under Voldemort's Cruciatus Curse, getting punched by Dudley was nothing. But it still hurt. If his cousin wanted to play unfairly, then Harry was more than willing. Before Dudley could even pull his fist away, Harry kicked out hard, wincing when he heard a crack. For a moment he thought that he must have broken his foot, but then Dudley cried out stumbling backwards.

Causing the floor to tremble, Dudley fell on his butt, grasping his knee.

Shaking his head, Harry walked over and picked up his wand. "I won't go easy on you next time Dudley."

He stood in front of his whimpering cousin. From the look of the boy's knee, Harry figured he must have cracked it. Praying it would work, Harry waved his wand performing the same spell Madam Pomfrey had used when she had straightened his leg. Other than a sharp cry when the light surrounded his knee, Dudley didn't say a word.

Relieved to see that it fixed his cousin's knee, Harry left him and went upstairs. As soon as he shut the door behind him, he slid down the wall clutching his stomach. It felt like someone had poured a pitcher of undiluted bubotuber pus straight down his throat. His wand shaking slightly, Harry tried the only spell he could think of.

"_Episky!"_ he whispered.

It helped, but not much. The pain was still there, twisting his intestines in what felt like a giant's hand. Moving slowly Harry made it back to his bed, thankful he hadn't woke up either of his friends. It took more than an hour but when he finally did fall asleep his dreams were full of evil rosebushes running after him forcing him to drink Neville's potions, while Dudley jumped on a broomstick and flew off with Ginny, both laughing.

Harry never mentioned what had happened that night, and as far as he knew neither had Dudley. When Ron and Hermione had asked why Harry was moving slowly the next morning, he told them he was still a little sore from Grimmauld Place. Ron accepted this answer, but Hermione still seemed doubtful.

Over the next few weks Harry, Ron, and Hermione stayed in his room and looked through the books that Professor McGonagall had given them. Hermione seperated them into three stacks, one for each of them. While his two friends searched for what the unknown Horcrux could be, Harry was busy trying to find out how to destroy one.

He didn't think that a basilisk fang would work again. The locket and cup were metal, unaffected by the poison, and Nagini was probably immune to it, being a snake herself. In an odd twist of fate, Dumbledore had never gotten around to telling him how he had destroyed the ring but Harry wasn't looking forward to try the same thing as the old wizard. Even if he did somehow figure out how it was done. If the ring had enough power to do that to Dumbledore's hand, the strongest wizard he had known, Harry didn't like to think what it could have done to him.

The main problem he was faced with was that he could barely find mention of a Horcrux, much less on how to destroy one. Surprisingly enough, it had been in the last book he would have expected that he finally found a short passage. It was in _Magical Curses, Objects, and Creatures in History_, and was barely a paragraph long. He grabbed a new roll of parchment and copied it down anyway.

_One of the vilest acts a witch or wizard can do, the creation of a Horcrux not only requires the splitting of one's own soul but the murder of another. Thus, for good reason, the knowledge of how to make such a dark object has been believed to be lost since the time of the four founders._

"Find something interesting Harry?" Hermione asked looking up when he finished writing out the last word.

"No not really," Harry said. He passed over the parchment to let her read it and shut the book. He stood up to stretch and winced as his back popped. He had sat in the same position for the past three hours. "That's the only thing I found and it was in the last book you gave me Hermione. Let's take a break for awhile."

Looking grateful, Ron threw down the thick tome he had been reading. "Good idea, mate. I'm starving. How about some lunch?"

"Honestly Ron, when are you not? It's all you ever think about," said Hermione, her head bent over the parchment Harry had handed her. A minute later she put it aside and looked up. "But now that you mentioned it, I am a little hungry."

Harry snorted on his way to the cabinet that they had charmed with a cold holding spell. He pulled out some butterbeers and what little sandwich makings that they had.

After finishing, Ron looked over. "What time is the meeting tonight?"

"Nine. But Professor McGonagall wants us to meet with her an hour earlier," Harry said. He waved his wand, vanishing their trash. "She thinks she might have found out something important about one of the Horcruxes."

"I'm glad someone has," said Hermione. For the first time in his life Harry saw his friend looking weary as she pulled one of the books toward her. "What I want to know, is how Voldemort ever found out about an Horcrux in the first place. I've been through the entire Hogwarts library and never found a mention of them. Even in these dark books, there's only a passage or two. If only I...what Ron?"

Ron was grinning, looking at her appreciatively. He reddened a little. "Nothing. It's just that I never thought I'd see Hermione Granger admit that she doesn't know everything."

"Just what do you mean by that Ronald Weasley? I don't think―"

Harry barely heard Ron whisper something, but Hermione must have not had troubled hearing. She broke off. "W-what did you say?"

Blushing even worse, Ron glanced down. "Well I, urhm...I kinda like you this way."

"R-Really Ron," Hermione stammered, even redder than Ron. "I mean...do you really think so?"

Grinning, Harry excused himself, although Ron or Hermione either one didn't notice him leave the room. All he wanted to do was shout that it was about time. Maybe now they would finally realize that they deserved each other. Feeling that nothing could break his good mood, Harry walked into the kitchen. He was on the way to the back garden, for some fresh air.

He was about to open the door, when he heard something in Aunt Petunias cupboard. Curious, Harry walked over and yanked the door open.

"YOU!" Harry screamed fumbling to get his wand out of his pocket. Sitting on one of the shelves, with it's face buried in a box of cereal, was a scruffy looking rat. But what Harry focused on, wasn't the mangled tail, or the patching fur, but the small silver paw.

At the sound of his scream, the rat jerked its head up. A second before Harry got his wand free and aimed at it, the rat dove for the floor. Squeaking as it hit, the rat scurried out of the pantry and towards the small utility room, Aunt Petunia laundered in.

"Come back here coward!" Harry cried chasing it, all the time throwing spells at it. He was making a mess of the linoleum floor, but he didn't care. The only thing on his mind was catching the shifty little man who had betrayed his parents.

"Harry? What's going on?" Hermione and Ron asked from the top of the stairs.

"It's Wormtail," Harry shouted back, aiming a tripping jinx but missing by an inch. "He's trying to get out."

"Scabbers? Here?" asked Ron. He flew down the stairs, his own wand out in seconds. Right before Wormtail was about to climb out the clothes dryer chute, Ron hit him with a full body bind hex.

Panting Hermione joined them in the small room, looking disgustedly at the still rat. She waved her wand, causing the rat to twist and writhe, slowly reforming into a short, balding man with a face not all that different from his animal self. Then she added another spell, which Harry recognized as an anti-changing spell Lupin had used during their third year. After she wrapped Peter Pettigrew up with some anti-apparition ropes, Hermione glanced around the room.

"You know Harry, your aim's a little off," she said. The statement was so simple and obvious that she reminded him of Luna for a second. "We need to start working on our magic skills."

All of a sudden, the feeling from before returned. Everything was going alright again. He had Wormtail. Now he could finally clear Sirius' name once and for all. Of course, there was also the information Wormtail could provide about Voldemort's operations. It would mean the Order―

Harry broke off the thought, the reality of the situation sinking in. There really wasn't an Order anymore to hand the traitor to. Only the new DA and he was in charge of that, which meant now he had to figure out what to do with the rat. Yet another reason he despised being elected the leader.

"What are we going to do with him?" Ron said kicking Wormtail in his side.

"It's obvious, isn't it?" said Hermione. "We have to turn him over to the Ministry. They'll be able to―"

"We can't do that Hermione," Ron said sounding shocked that she would even suggest such a ridiculous thought. "Then we wouldn't be able to get any information from him. All the stupid Minister will do is throw him in Azkaban. He'd be out before sunset, just like the others."

"What are you guys talking about?" asked Harry, slightly confused.

"Oh right, Harry. Sorry, we forgot to tell you," Hermione said. She was flicking her wand at the burn marks on the floor scrubbing the mess away with a bubbly pink goo. She paused and looked up. "While you were in St. Mungo's, Voldemort broke into Azkaban again."

Harry nodded, not all that surprised. Ron was right. There had been enough Azkaban breakouts that it was probably becoming a running joke with the Death Eaters. He quickly came to a decision. "Can you two watch him for a second? I have an idea."

"Sure mate. Just hurry, will you?" Ron asked,_ accidentally_ stepping on Wormtail's normal hand. "I don't know how long I can look at this bag of hippogriff droppings."

Harry nodded and ran out the back door. Once he was out past the wards, he apparated to Hogwarts. There was someone there he needed a favor from. Harry just hoped he was still there, with school only letting out a week and a half ago. He entered the front hall and raced down to the dungeons.

A light shone underneath one of the doors, the very one that used to be Snape's office. Harry knocked on the door and waited. There were a few clink of bottles and the scraping of a chair before the door finally creaked open.

"Harry, my boy! What a wonderful surprise," Professor Slughorn cried, beaming. "I was just in the middle of a spot of lunch. Would you care to join me? I do believe I have a fine box of crystallized pineapple we can partake for dessert."

"No thanks Professor, I've already had lunch," said Harry. He paused thinking. If he didn't do this right, then Professor Slughorn would turn in on himself and refuse anything Harry wanted. He couldn't just come right out and ask for it. No, Harry thought, if he were to actually get the potion, then he would have to trade for it.

"Are you feeling alright? You like a might weakish."

"Sorry Professor, just thinking. I was wondering, if it's not too much trouble, if I can ask you for something."

Just like he knew it would, Slughorn's face clouded over. The massive man started to retreat back into his room inching the door shut. "Well Harry, you know, I'm really quite busy. Perhaps another time, then?"

Putting his foot into the door jamb to keep it open, Harry pushed the Potions Professor's hand off the doorknob. "It's not about that," Harry said, referring to what he had spent a good chunk of last year trying to get out of the man. "All I need is a potion."

Before the last word was out of his mouth, the door swung open again. Professor Slughorn, looking relieved, ushered him inside. "Why didn't you say so, my boy? If it's a potion you're after I believe you came to the right man. Although with your mother's skills in the subject, I can't see why you would need my help. That girl had to be one of my best students. If she―"

Knowing that his professor could go on for another hour talking about his past students, Harry interrupted him. "I'm sorry Professor, but if you don't mind, I'm kind of in a hurry."

Slughorn nodded. "Very well then. Can't say I'm not surprised. I always knew you would be one to accomplish great things. Have a knack for knowing who will be successful. Okay, what will it be then?"

Slughorn led him into his personal potions lab, where no fewer than seven cauldrons were bubbling away, filling the room with the aroma of an odd mixture between rotten leaves and pumpkin juice. He went over to his cabinet, and after waving his wand to unlock it, he turned around holding a small bottle with dark liquid inside. "Pepperup Potion perhaps? It looks like a dose of this would do you some good. Or maybe a nice Invigoration Draught?"

"Actually what I need is a little more complicated than those two," Harry said biding his time until he actually had to say the name of the potion.

"I was wondering what it would take for you to let go of one of those," Harry asked pointing to a smaller top shelf in Slughorn's cupboard. From the looks of it, it contained the more valuable potions. Just from standing where he was, Harry could see small vials of Wolfsbane Potion, Amortentia, Polyjuice Potion, and the tiniest of the lot, Felix Felicis.

"Well my boy, those are quite valuable. I don't know if I would part with them," Professor Slughorn said rubbing his mustache. But Harry could see the greedy look in his eyes at the thought of turning a fine profit. "What did you have in mind?"

Harry thought of what to offer. If it was a matter of money, then that was no problem but going from experience the new Potions Professor would rather trade for hard to find and expensive ingredients. Maybe Hagrid had something...but he already gave Slughorn the Unicorn tail hairs. Other than going into the forest, there weren't any rare beast at Hogwarts. Even the―

That's it! Grinning Harry raised his eyebrow. "Well Professor, I don't have much to offer. Although I do happen to have a Basilisk fang."

Professor Slughorn jerked around, dropping the Pepperup Potion. It fell to the floor shattering and spraying his feet but he didn't notice. His eyes were so wide and his face so flushed that for a second Harry thought the man was suffering from a heart attack. Slughorn stepped forward, seizing Harry's shoulders and squeezing them hard.

"My boy, don't you joke of such things," he cried shaking Harry a little. "Basilisk venom is one of the rarest potion ingredients in the world. Even the most powerful wizards could never get close enough to get some without being petrified or worse, bitten. What little the wizarding world has in stock now is rumored to have come from Salazar Slytherin himself, who could control the Kings of Serpents."

Exhilarated that he had offered just the perfect thing, Harry struggled free of Slughorn's grasp. Now he had bargaining power. If what the Potions Professor said was true, not only did that mean that he would be able to get the potion he wanted, but any other he needed in the coming fight with Voldemort.

"I'm not joking Professor," Harry said smiling. "Tell you what. If you give me what I need right now, I promise to bring you a whole fang tomorrow."

Slughorn looked like he didn't dare want to believe what Harry was saying, but the prospect of such an amazing ingredient must have won out. He straightened up. "It's a deal. Anything you need, just name it."

Harry walked over to the cupboard. It took him a second to find it, but a moment later he saw the small bottle near the back of the shelf. Pulling out the vial of clear potion, Harry held it out so Professor Slughorn could see what he was taking. "This is all I want for now."

Slughorn's eyes widened. "Veritaserum? You do understand the dangers behind it? It should only be used when absolutely necessary. Got that my boy?"

Surprised that the Potions Professor wasn't going to offer any resistance Harry nodded. Any other teacher would have questioned him endlessly on why he would need it, but then again any other teacher wouldn't have been bribed either. "Trust me Professor. The person I'm going to use this on would deserve anything he gets."

Harry thanked Professor Slughorn, and after promising to deliver his part of the deal the next day, he left the dungeons. As he was about to exit the front hall, an idea hit him.

Instead, he rushed up to the Headmistress office. He figured that it would be a good idea to have an experienced person there to help when he used the Veritaserum. On the way, he thought that the Transfiguration Professor would be against the idea. But once she saw that he was determined to do it, she would follow. After all, he was the new leader of the DA.

It was then that Harry realized something. He may not have wanted the responsibility but now that the had it, it was time to use it. One thing he did know, was that he wasn't going to lead everyone the same way Dumbledore had. Harry knew he wasn't going to sit back and wait for Voldemort to act. For now on, he was going to take the fight to Voldemort and the Death Eaters.

Starting with the questioning a certain rat.


	8. Questions with a Rat

**Questions with a Rat, a Beetle, and some Parchment**

"You can not contemplate doing this," Professor McGonagall said panting. "You must see reason."

Harry was walking to the front gate at Hogwarts, McGonagall hurrying after him. Ever since he had mentioned his plan to her, she had been following him trying to talk him out of it. She wasn't accomplishing anything other than making Harry wish he had kept his mouth shut.

"I'm not giving him to the Ministry before I get some answers, Professor."

"But you don't have to Mr. Potter. Surely Kingsley would be better suited to handle this type of situation."

Harry whirled around. Professor McGonagall took a step back at the look on his face, but Harry hardly noticed. He was fed up with hearing what she was saying. "Who elected me leader of the DA?"

"W-What? I can hardly see why―" Professor McGonagall stammered.

"Did I even want the responsibility?" Harry asked throwing his arms out. "No, I didn't, but you along with everyone else, thought I would do a good job. And now when I plan to do something, you start second guessing me." He studied her face for a second, his resolve hard as ever. "I'm going to do this. You can come help and make sure nothing goes wrong, or you can stay here. It doesn't matter either way."

Harry turned around and began marching towards the gates. His heart was pounding at the thought of what he had just done. He couldn't even imagine how shocked Hermione would be if she heard that he had practically told Professor McGonagall to shut up. At that moment Harry was extremely glad he wasn't going back to school next year.

A second later he heard Professor McGonagall catch up to him. "Very well, Mr. Potter. If you intend to follow through with your plan, the least I can do is be present in case anything unintentional happens."

"Fine, thank you."

"Now why can't you tell me, who it is you are going to question with Veritaserum?"

Harry sighed. They had already been through this too. "I told you Professor. It's a Death Eater."

"Don't be facetious with me Mr. Potter," said Professor McGonagall, sounding as strict as ever.

"I want it to be a surprise," Harry said joking. He knew he was getting on his old transfiguration teacher's nerves, but couldn't help himself. For some reason he felt that he shouldn't mention the name of his captive.

A few minutes later, they were walking through the back yard of Number 4 Privet Drive. Luck must have been on his side, for when he entered the house, none of the Dursleys were in sight. Hoping to keep it that way, Harry quickly led Professor McGonagall to the kitchen. When he pushed open the door, he suddenly stopped, causing his transfiguration professor to bump into his back.

"They're gone," Harry murmured. The kitchen was empty. "Something must have happened to them."

"Calm down Mr. Potter," McGonagall said looking around the small kitchen. She focused on the Microwave oven, studying the blinking lights on the front panel. "Mr. Weasley and Mrs. Granger simply moved him to a different location. Your room perhaps?"

Feeling slightly stupid, Harry had to agree she was probably right. Ron and Hermione must have moved Wormtail upstairs so the Dursleys wouldn't see him when they got back from wherever they went. After all, with the kitchen looking as spotless as Aunt Petunia left it, there was no reason for his relatives to realize that they had yet another wizard in the house.

All the way upstairs he couldn't help but feel that Professor McGonagall was wrong and that Wormtail had somehow escaped, leaving behind his friend's bodies as a gift. By the time he reached the top step, Harry was running towards his room. He burst into the room, so sure that he would see Ron and Hermione dead on the floor.

But they were alright, sitting on the couch watching Wormtail squirming on the floor. They turned their heads around, startled at the sound.

"Bloody hell Harry!" Ron cried. "You trying to scare us to death? Next time you―"

He broke off as Professor McGonagall appeared in the doorway. Ron's face tinged slightly and he shot Harry a questioning look. Shaking his head, Harry moved over to Wormtail. He took out his wand and levitated the rat into one of the chairs.

"Mr. Weasley, Mrs. Granger," Professor McGonagall nodded to the two, then joined Harry. Her eyebrows shot up as she saw who Harry was standing by. She gave Wormtail an icy glare. "And Mr. Pettigrew. I must say how utterly despicable you have proven yourself to be. Never in all of my years as a Professor would I have thought you would have betrayed James and Lily Potter."

Wormtail opened his mouth but no words came out.

"Oh sorry. Forgot about that," said Hermione. She waved her wand. "We had to put a silencing charm on him. He kept begging for us to let him go."

"P-please Professor McGonagall," Wormtail cried struggling against his ropes. "I d-didn't mean too...He made me do it. I was under the Imperius!"

McGonagall took a step forward, her eyes flashing. "You never were a good liar Peter. Even now I can tell you have no remorse for what you have done. It shames me to think that I never saw this coldness in you during the seven years you were in my class."

"B-But I never―"

"Enough!" Professor McGonagall shouted. "I believe you have something to give Mr. Pettigrew, Harry. It is rude to keep your guest waiting."

Harry fought the grin struggling to break out on his face. With the way she had been talking earlier, he didn't expect Professor McGonagall to change her mind so quickly. But apparently the sight of her former student sent her over edge, to his side. Harry pulled the bottle out of his pocket and stepped forward.

Hermione gasped behind him. "Harry, are you sure you know what your doing?"

"Yes Hermione," Harry said uncorking the bottle. Wormtail's eyes grew large as he realized what was about to happen. Harry had to silence him again to stop his screaming. Before he lost his nerve, he quickly tipped the bottle over Wormtail's mouth and counted out four drops, hoping it was enough.

"How long do we wait?" Harry asked, watching as Wormtail's eyes slowly misted over. A few seconds later his face slackened.

"I believe I once heard Severus mention waiting two minutes for the Veritaserum to take effect. Does that sound about right Mrs. Granger?"

"Yes ma'am," Hermione said. "In _Potions Galore_, it says that when the person starts to drool it means that they are ready to be questioned."

Harry turned around and, sure enough, a blob of spittle hung off Wormtail's chin. The only problem was that Harry didn't know where to start. There were so many things he needed to know. Finally one question floated to the front of his mind. But first he needed to know if it was working.

"What's your name?"

Wormtail blinked. "Peter Pettigrew."

"What is your animagus form?"

"A rat."

"What is the nickname for you animagus form?

"Wormtail."

All question and answers that the bloody rat would admit, even if he wasn't under Veritaserum. Harry needed to ask something else. Remembering Professor McGonagall's outburst earlier, he found the perfect question.

"Did you willingly betray my parents, Lily and James Potter, to Voldemort over fifteen years ago?"

Wormtail looked like he was fighting not to answer, even going as far as biting his lip, but then the answer burst from him. "Yes. I was their secret keeper and led the Dark Lord to the doorstep of where they were hiding."

Harry nodded trying to control the rage building inside of him. Only when Ron and Hermione appeared on either side of him, clutching his shoulder, that he realized the large sun windows were vibrating. He had been very close to losing it. Taking a minute to calm himself, Harry looked away from the trembling man before him.

"How were you able to penetrate the protection on this house?" Professor McGonagall asked startling Harry. He hadn't expected her to ask any questions but now that she did, he realized it was a good one. According to Dumbledore, no harm could come to him while he could call Number 4 Privet Drive home. He turned back around to hear the answer.

"I used my animagus form to enter through the dryer exhaust," said Wormtail simply.

"Let me rephrase that," said Professor McGonagall sounding exasperated. "How were you able to enter the house at all? How did you bypass the blood magic protecting Harry Potter?"

"The Dark Lord recently learned that the ancient magic Albus Dumbledore evoked by placing Harry Potter with his blood relatives protected him from harm. Therefore if an individual with no intention of causing harm to the residents of the house, wished to enter, he would be able to do so."

There was a moment of silence in the room. Harry figured they were thinking the same thing he was. How could they miss something so obvious? Professor Dumbledore had always been talking about Voldemort not being able to harm Harry at the house, but he never said that the magic kept Death Eaters out.

"Why did your master send you here to spy on Harry?" Ron asked. "What did he want to know so badly?"

Once again, Wormtail fought the power of the Veritaserum. Just when Harry was thinking he would have to pour a few more drops down the miserable rat's throat, whatever the consequences would be, the answer poured from his lips. "The Dark Lord told me to stay until I heard the answer to three questions."

He paused biting his lips hard enough for them to bleed, but it did no good. "First, he wanted to know how Potter and his friends managed to get out of Grimmauld Place alive. He watched Mrs. Black's memory of the attack and could not understand how the four people trapped in the room could get out."

"The second thing was to listen for any possible times Harry would be away from his relatives house. If I heard of a good time, I was ordered to report it to him right away. I have already done so. The third―"

"Wait," Harry interrupted. "What did you tell Voldemort.? When did you say a good time for an attack would be?"

"During the wedding of one of the Weasleys and the half breed Veela."

Ron jerked, his face draining. "What? At Bill's wedding...bloody hell, my whole family will be there."

Hermione wrapped an arm around Ron's shoulder. "Don't worry Ron. Now that we now Death Eaters plan to attack we can have more security."

"Or maybe even lay a trap," Harry muttered thinking. If Voldemort didn't realize that Wormtail had been captured, he had no reason to believe they knew about the surprise attack. It would be he perfect opportunity to catch some of the Death Eaters.

"Harry, you can't be seriously considering ruining Bill's wedding like that," scolded Hermione. "It's supposed to be a perfect day for them."

"What makes you think I'm the one ruining the wedding?" Harry asked a little angry. "You heard Wormtail. The Death Eaters are going to attack either way. It's not like I'm asking them to come. What's the harm in laying a trap for them?"

"I guess you're right," Hermione said still holding Ron, her eyes wet.

"Okay then," Harry said. He looked back at Wormtail. "So what was the third thing Voldemort wanted to know so bad?"

Not even bothering to fight, Wormtail answered quickly. "The Dark Lord heard that Mr. Potter was accompanying Dumbledore outside the bounds of Hogwarts on the night the old man was murdered. He wanted me to find out where they had been."

Harry would have sworn his heart froze for a second. He desperately didn't want to know the answer to the next question but knew he had to ask. "Do you know what we were doing?"

"Yes. Harry Potter and Albus Dumbledore were out hunting a Horcrux containing a piece of my master's soul. Apparently it was one of six such objects. Harry Potter destroyed one. The same for Albus Dumbledore. And one currently resides in Mr. Potter's nightstand," Wormtail rattled off numbly.

"And did...have you told Voldemort this yet?" Harry whispered.

"No."

"Thank Merlin," Harry muttered, feeling a lot better now that Voldemort still didn't know what he was up to.

"Have you heard anything else that Voldemort would be interested in?" Harry asked not really expecting anything. After all, the only thing the three of them had been talking about the past four days had been Horcruxes, the wedding, and the new DA meeting that night.

"Yes"

"Really?" Harry asked surprised. "What was it?"

"I heard the mudblood and the Weasley talking about a house," said Wormtail quietly. "It belongs to Mr. Potter, but has been lost for decades. My master would be very interested in the knowledge contained within the Cottage's library."

Confused, Harry turned to Ron and Hermione, only to see them share an anxious look. Hermione turned to him apologetic. "Listen Harry, we weren't going to mention anything until we found out more about it. We're close to finding it."

"What are you talking about?"

Hermione glanced at Professor McGonagall for help. The old Transfiguration Professor cleared her throat. "I believe what Mrs. Granger and Mr. Pettigrew are referring to, is The Cottage. It's a mansion belonging to the Potter line but it's been lost for over fifty years now."

"How can a house be lost?" Harry asked, his confusion still strong. "And why haven't I ever heard about it from Dumbledore, Sirius, or Professor Lupin?"

Professor McGonagall glanced at Wormtail. "Perhaps we should talk about this later. Do you not have more questions for your guest?"

Feeling lost with all the information he received, Harry asked the one question he wanted to know since he found out the truth about Sirius not being his parents betrayer. "What made you do it? Why did you betray my parents after years of being their friend?"

This must have been something Wormtail really didn't want to answer. Unlike before, he did everything in his power to keep his mouth from opening. Blood poured between his lips as he bit his tongue and lips. But the Veritaserum was too powerful for him. Reluctantly his mouth opened and the words poured from his throat.

"I loved h-h-her," Wormtail gasped, tears falling from his blank eyes.

Harry felt sick to his stomach when he realized whom the rat was talking about. He tried to convince himself that Wormtail meant someone else, but he knew the truth. Hoping for a different answer Harry asked, "You loved my mum?"

"Y-yes," Wormtail said, alright sobbing now. "Every time I saw her it hurt so bad knowing she would never look at me the same way she looked at James."

"Why did you turn her over to Voldemort then?" Harry asked, still disgusted but his anger growing. "If you loved her, why did you let that bastard kill her?"

"The Dark Lord p-p-promised," Wormtail wailed. The effects of the Veritaserum must have been wearing off, for emotion was pouring back into the squat balding man. "He promised not to kill her, only James and the boy. That when he was done, Lily could be mine and that we could be together."

Harry sat down in one of the chairs, trying to control his temper. He remembered back to his third year. Back to when the Dementors had plagued him with memories of his mother's death. Voldemort had offered to let Lily live, if only she had stood aside. Harry remembered wondering why the evil git would offer a muggle-born life, but now it was starting to make sense. Wormtail had begged Voldemort to let his mum live because he was in love with her.

"Harry," Hermione said, startling him out of his thoughts. She was looking at him with sympathetic eyes. "If you have any more questions to ask, you had better hurry. The Veritaserum is wearing off."

Nodding Harry heaved himself out of the chair and went back to stand in front of Wormtail. Originally he hadn't been planning on asking about the Horcruxes, as if Wormtail ever got free he would be able to tell Voldemort that Harry knew about them but now that was kind of pointless. Wormtail already knew about them so what would be the harm in asking about them?

"Do you know what Voldemort's other Horcruxes are, or where they're located?"

"No, I haven't heard about the Horcruxes until one day ago. My master has never talked about such things to me."

Harry had figured as much. "Where is Voldemort's hideout? And how many Death Eaters are there now?"

Wormtail's brow creased. "I do not know where we meet at. The windows and doors are always sealed shut. He has never called every Death Eater to a meeting, so I do not know. From the ones I have seen, there's thirteen in his inner circle, and thirty new Death Eaters."

When Harry couldn't think of any more questions he needed from the rat, Ron surprised him with one of his own. "Why did Snape sneak into the Department of Mysteries to steal something? And what was it?"

"Snape is missing," Wormtail stated.

"What do you mean he's missing?" Harry asked.

"Since the raid on the Order at the House of Black, we have not seen him or the young Malfoy boy. The Dark Lord is getting angry that no word has been heard from them since."

That was interesting. Where did Snape go? Just what was in the Department of Mysteries that Snape had wanted so badly? It would have to be something great for the git to leave and have Voldemort hunt him. Of course it didn't matter either way to Harry what Snape was doing, as long as he didn't get in his way.

They were done. The Veritaserum was wearing off, but Harry didn't need to ask any more questions. He had heard what he needed to know. He turned to Professor McGonagall.

"Obliviate him," Harry said.

"I most certainly will not Mr. Potter," McGonagall cried scandalously. "It is not only unethical but against wizarding laws to use an unauthorized memory charm."

"Think about it Professor. How many times in the past three years have Death Eaters broke out of Azkaban? If Wormtail gets out, he'll tell Voldemort that we know about his Horcruxes," said Harry calmly. She seemed to hesitate. "Besides wasn't it unethical, not to mention illegal, to interrogate him with Veritaserum? All the more reason to Obliviate him."

Professor grimly nodded, giving in. She stood in front of Wormtail, who struggled against his ropes, and raised her wand. A moment later the blank look returned to his eyes. It stayed for a second then cleared. He looked around.

"Harry!" Wormtail cried seeing him. "Please! I didn't do it. It was the Dark Lord. He used the Imperius on me. Professor! You know it wasn't me."

McGonagall and Harry both ignored him, the former even going as far as recasting the silencing charm on him.

"Well, I guess that turned out alright," Ron said giving an almost unnoticeable nod in Wormtail's direction. "But now what do we do with the rat? Hand him over to the Aurors?"

Harry stood still for a minute, a thought forming in his head. It was a long shot and it might be hard to find her, but he figured it would be worth it. He quickly told the others the plan, finally glancing at Hermione.

"Do you think you can get her to come?" Harry asked.

For one of the few times in her life Hermione smiled coldly. "Oh yes. I believe I can _persuade_ her to meet us right away."

Ron snickered. "I'd bet."

Grinning Harry watched Hermione leave the room remembering that when push came to shove she always held a few surprises. When he saw Professor McGonagall's curious look, he explained what was going on. Never before had he seen the transfiguration teacher look so shocked yet elated at the same time.

"Mrs. Granger was responsible for that?" she asked, a slight smile twitching at her lips. "I do believe that young woman will make a mark on this world. I thank Merlin that she doesn't have the Weasley twins thirst for mischief."

"I agree. Two of them are enough," Ron said. "If you think they were bad at school, try living with them."

Finally smiling McGonagall tipped her head. "For that Mr. Weasley you have my sincere condolences. I can only imagine."

The three shared a laugh. Harry was still surprised to see the strict teacher letting go of her emotions so much in the past hour. If someone would have told him a year ago that he would be sitting in his room at the Dursleys laughing with three people he would have never guessed that it would be Ron, McGonagall, and Wormtail. Ron, maybe, but definitely not the transfiguration teacher and the traitorous rat.

They sat for an hour waiting on Hermione to get back. Every so often Harry would reapply the silencing charm on Wormtail when it sounding like it was wearing off. Meanwhile Ron and Professor McGonagall played a few games of chess. Surprisingly the new Headmistress was good, very good in fact. From where Harry sat, Ron never had a chance the first two games. While Ron preferred playing the bishops against his opponents, McGonagall was devastating with the knights.

During the third game Ron scraped by, managing to push a pawn across the board and promote it, replacing his lost queen. Ron seemed happy enough for the one checkmate. But Harry figured Professor McGonagall had let his best mate win and from the way she leaned back with a momentarily satisfied expression, which Ron happened to miss, Harry was sure.

It wasn't long before the sounds of footsteps on the stairs signaled that Hermione was back. A woman's shrill voice bellowed up, announcing that Hermione had been successful. "Listen here little girl. You can not simply beckon me to follow you on some wild goose case."

Hermione entered the room, looking flushed yet pleased with herself. A second later a woman dress in vividly bright red robes followed. She was scowling when she entered the room but when she saw Harry, her face immediately brightened. "Ah, Harry. So this is the famous muggle residence you grew up in?" She glanced around the room appreciatively considering the large sun windows. "It's surprising to see that your relatives treat you so well."

Everyone in the room snorted, causing Rita Skeeter to look offended until Harry explained. "They don't. This was Hermione's doing."

Her eyebrows raised, Rita turned to Hermione. "Really? This is quite impressive work? Do you often visit your boyfriend's house during the summer? Is that why you had to enlarge the room, because you practically live together now?"

Flushing red, her eyes narrow, Hermione pointed to one of the seats. "I think you should sit down Mrs. Skeeter and keep quiet while Harry talks. And you won't print one word that didn't come out of his mouth. Understood?"

Nodding, but glaring at Hermione, Rita sat down looking at Harry. "So Mr. Potter, what is so important that little miss perfect dragged me out of the office?"

Trying not to grin at he picture of Hermione hauling Rita Skeeter unto the streets, Harry simply pointed at Wormtail. "You'll probably want to take a few pictures, I expect. It's not everyday you get to write about an infamous murderer long thought dead."

The look on Rita Skeeter's face was priceless. She was almost bursting with joy as she hurriedly pulled her camera out of her bag and began snapping off shots. Countless flashes later, she finally settled down and pulled out a bright green quill, which she promptly put back after Hermione cleared her throat. After she had a regular dictation quill set, she turned to Wormtail.

Harry took the charm off and walked over to the window. The others joined him, leaving Rita to question Wormtail by herself. With Hermione's threat looming over her head, Harry knew she wouldn't write anything against them. But that wasn't going to stop him from scanning a copy of the article before she gave it to the editor.

Remembering something, Harry glanced around. They were standing quite aways from the reporter but just to make sure he whispered, "_Muffliato!_" Ignoring the slightly reproachful look Hermione gave him, he turned to McGonagall. "You said that you wanted to meet us an hour early tonight. I guess now's a good time as any."

"What spell did you just use Mr. Potter?" Professor McGonagall asked glancing towards the reporter and Wormtail.

"An anti-eavesdropping spell, I guess," Harry said, not wanting to tell her where he had seen it before. "Believe me, they won't hear us."

McGonagall didn't look too happy being left out, but she let it drop. "I didn't get around to cleaning out Albus' desk until a few days ago. Anyway, I came across a couple of scraps of parchment on which he had made notes to himself. I didn't realize the significance of them until after hearing about the Horcruxes. I thought they were...well you know how Albus could be at times?"

Harry nodded, grinning. He knew perfectly well how Professor Dumbledore could act at times and from the small smiles on Ron and Hermione's faces they did too. When he first came to Hogwarts people had said Dumbledore was a little mad, brilliant of course, but still a little mental. The closer Harry grew to the Headmaster the more he realized that Dumbledore just loved life, even if he was a tad eccentric.

"Fortunately, Filch had not been to empty the bin yet so I was able to retrieve the notes," Professor McGonagall said pulling a small pouch out of her robes. She enlarged it, then started rummaging around until she pulled out an envelope very much like the one Harry had received from Aunt Petunia, only smaller.

She held the envelope out to Harry. "Two of them sort of make sense to me now but the third is still confusing. Maybe you'll have better luck. Of course I wanted to talk to you immediately after reading it but, remembering how stubborn you were being the night Albus died I decided not to bother."

"Excuse me," Rita Skeeter shouted, grabbing everyone's attention. "I just need to know if little miss-know-it-all would give me _permission_ to leave," she said icily. "Wouldn't want to get in trouble, now would I?"

Harry hid his laughter behind a cough as Hermione's face reddened in anger. He turned to Rita. "I suggest you leave before Hermione turns you into a pile of bubotuber pus. It doesn't look like she has much more patience."

"Fine," Rita huffed turning around and marching to the door.

"Don't forget," Harry called after her as she stomped down the stairs. "I want a copy of your article before you print it."

The only thing that told him she had heard him was the fact that she raised her hand. If Rita had been muggle-born, Harry would have sworn she had given him the finger. Shrugging, he went back over and sat down, refusing to look at the joke of a man sitting across from him.

When Professor McGonagall once again asked if it was time to get Kingsley, or whomever Auror was on duty loyal to the new DA, Harry told her to go ahead. After she left, Harry nearly fell out of his chair as Hermione pulled her wand out and suddenly stunned Wormtail. Luckily, the rat fell backwards instead of sideways so he didn't end up with a bad headache.

"Bloody hell Hermione," Ron said, gazing at her with awe. "Where did that come from?"

She just shrugged. "We need to see what's written on those scraps of parchment. If it mentions something about the one of the Horcruxes, it must be important. Otherwise, Professor Dumbledore wouldn't have copied it down. And I don't think it's a good idea to let him overhear us anymore."

Agreeing with her, Harry pulled the envelope out and ripped it open. Three small scraps of parchment fluttered out into he lap. Bearing the same writing as the letter Aunt Petunia had let him read, the tidy writing was a little loopy as if the person writing was doing so in a hurry.

_...what could the last one be? Ravenclaw's only known artifacts are her wand; no, holds too much magical energy for it to work...one of her quills? Maybe but not likely, not important enough...hmm...ah, could it be so simple? Her journal?...perhaps, must look into it._

Hermione started looking excited. "Harry do you think Dumbledore ever found out if her journal was a Horcrux? It would be perfect. In _Hogwarts, A History_ it says that she always carried it with her jotting down her thoughts. She had charmed it to never run out of empty space."

Ron was nodding. "You know, that just might be it. After all he did use the diary as one, so why not another book?"

Harry thought for a minute before answering. He had a strong urge to believe that the journal was very likely. "Maybe. It's his style. Taking something so cherished by one of the brightest and powerful witches and attaching a piece of his soul to it."

He picked up the second note.

_That house...could it be? But why now?...there must be something connected to Harry that I'm missing. Has he ever even heard of it before? Not likely...Remus, Sirius, and even James, have never laid eyes on it before. There just might be value knowledge. For Harry's sake...but how to draw it out into the open...Interesting that just might work._

"I think he's talking about the Cottage, Harry," Hermione said chewing on her lip. "It sounds like he might have caught a glimpse of it and then tried to find some way to locate it. I wonder what he thought of?"

Harry had to admit, the more he heard of it, the more he was wanting to find this house. Not because of what Dumbledore and Voldemort wanted with it, but because it was bound to be full of his family history. Sure, the library would be a good thing to use in their hunt for the rest of the Horcruxes, but to own something that's been in the Potter line for centuries was more invaluable in Harry's eyes.

"Go on then," Ron said gesturing to the last piece of parchment, which was by far the longest of the lot. "Read the last one. It might have a clue."

_WHAT IN MERLIN WAS THAT?...I have never seen anything like that. Did the ring cause the vision? Was it a trap set by Voldemort? If so, it certainly distracted me long enough for my hand to be destroyed...the locket is the key, once combined they should show the map but I have tried and failed to produce it...that just might work. Perhaps Harry would be able to do it? But when?...it's decided then, on his seventeenth birthday, when he comes of age the note will unseal telling him what needs to be done...My only regret is I won't be there to see it myself. Even with such horrible objects, the historical find of the site will be monumental...alas, I shall not divulge to Harry the fact that I have already obtained another of the objects for he would want to see it. It is much too early for him to handle it...The cave. Tonight we go to find yet another object. Harry shall be going with me, so he can witness the ways in which Tom thinks he outwits the rest of us...If only Severus would reconsider and...Ah, here comes Harry..._

The three sat in silence, each thinking what the last note could possibly mean. All Harry knew, was that Professor McGonagall had been right. It was the most confusing of the three. What was that bit about the map? The Cottage, maybe? But why would a map to the Cottage be in something of Slytherin's? He was just about to ask Ron and Hermione, when the door opened.

Professor McGonagall stepped inside leading a woman with a heart shaped face and bright pink hair. Blowing a bubble with a piece of muggle gum, the woman looked around the room, whistling appreciatively.

"Wotcher Harry, Ron, Hermione," Tonks said nodding to each of them. She glanced over at Wormtail. "I hear you have a rat problem that needs to be taken care of."


	9. Revelations and Parseltongue

_A/N: Hey guys. Sorry about the delay. This chapter just didn't want to come out. I had to delete it and start over, twice. If I ever want to finish this story I'm going to have to move on. So I've decided to just go ahead and post it. Hope it's good enough. Thanks for reading._

_WolfShadow713_

**Chapter 9 – Revelations and Parseltongue**

Deciding that it wouldn't hurt to wait just a little longer to haul Wormtail in, Tonks sat down for a few minutes. Harry asked her about Lupin. The young metamorphmagus enthusiastically told him that Remus was doing great. In fact, thanks to him being a werewolf he was completely healed, not a scratch on him.

"I just wonder how you were able to get us out," Tonks said curiously. Apparently she didn't expect an answer for she went on without waiting for one. "Lucky the wards fell when they did, or we'd be goners huh? Where did you learn to side along Apparate someone anyway?"

So he had been right about the fact that no one else had seen the phoenix. Not wanting to go into detail, Harry didn't bother telling her the truth. "The night Malfoy let the Death Eaters into Hogwarts, I Apparated with Professor Dumbledore."

Tonks nodded. She glanced over at the Headmistress. "So when's the next meeting Professor? I keep forgetting to look at my coin. Any idea what we're going to talk about?"

Harry could see her hiding a smile. "It's tonight Nymphadora, but I'm afraid you will have to ask our new leader as to what we will be discussing."

"Oh, so you already elected a new leader then? Well who is it...Kingsley?"

The corners of her mouther twitching McGonagall shook her head.

"Arthur?"

Again a shake of the head.

"Was it one of the Weasleys? No? How about Professor Flitwick? Sprout?" Getting tired, Tonks threw her hands in the air. "Okay, fine. I give up. Who is it?"

"Mr Potter," Professor McGonagall said smiling.

Tonks eyes widened, then she jumped up and punched him on the shoulder. "Harry you prat! Why didn't you tell me you were our leader? Oh wait...I'm not going to get into trouble for hitting the leader am I?"

She ended up staying for over an hour. By the time Tonks left, soon followed by McGonagall, there wasn't much time left before the DA meeting. They would have needed at least an hour or two to talk about the Cottage like Harry wanted, so he decided to wait.

Remembering his part of the bargain with Slughorn, Harry decided to ask if one of them would go with him. "By the way guys, I had to make a deal with Professor Slughorn for the Veritaserum."

"So what does the greedy git want?" Ron asked darkly.

Harry tried not to grin. Even after Harry and Hermione had both assured him all last year, that the parties Slughorn threw were a waste of time, Ron had never completely gotten over the fact that he was never invited.

"Ronald Weasley!" Hermione scolded. "You can't talk about a Professor like that."

"Why not?" Ron asked. "It's the truth. He never thinks about anyone else unless there's something good in it for him."

"That's not the point. It's about―"

Knowing that the two could go on all night arguing Harry interrupted them. "I have to go back down to the Chamber of Secrets after the meeting."

Ron and Hermione both turned to look at him shocked. Ron's face was pale and Harry couldn't really blame him. The memories of seeing Ginny lying on the stone floor, looking like she was dead, was enough to make him sick to his stomach and dread returning. But he had promised something and he fully intended to follow through with it.

"Well I'm going with you," Hermione said straightening up. "Think about it Harry. You shouldn't go alone. What if something was to happen? Besides I never got to see it the first time."

"There's nothing to see Hermione," Ron said. He thought for a second then turned back to Harry. "Wait a minute. How are we going to get back up?"

It was a good question, which Harry had thought about since he had made the deal with Slughorn. Last time Fawkes carried them out, but this time there wouldn't be a phoenix there to help out. Or would there? Harry had this strange feeling that the phoenix from Grimmauld Place would come if he called but he was a hesitant to try. Then again, they would need a way out.

Feeling a might foolish, Harry shouted. "Argos! Can you come here for a minute?"

Nothing happened. Ron and Hermione both were looking at him with wide eyes. Harry knew what they were thinking. That he was crazy. That the pressure had finally gotten to be too much for Harry Potter. His face and neck burning Harry tried to explain.

"Uhm, well you see, er, there was this phoenix at Grimmauld Place..."

Even to his own ears it sounded stupid. Hermione opened her mouth to say something but never got the chance. There was a bright flash above them. Hermione screamed, practically jumping into Ron's arms, who just stood there staying open-mouthed at the fluttering black bird.

Harry had never felt so relieved in his life. He hadn't imagined the whole thing after all. Argos flew around the room twice, twilling a few notes which was enough to calm Harry. Then, surprising them, it flew down and settled on the back of Harry's chair.

Tentatively, Harry reached up and stroked the bird's feathers. "Guys, this is Argos," Harry said. Then deciding to try something, Harry glanced up into the black phoenix's eyes.

_Argos, these are my best friends. Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger_, Harry thought hoping it would work. For a second he heard nothing, but then as clear as if he were whispering in his ear Argos answered.

_You pick your flock well, young human. Their aura's are strong. Their chicks will be powerful._

Surprising Ron and Hermione, Harry burst out laughing. His friends just looked at him with questioning faces while Argos simply tilted his head.

_Are they not mates? They share the same nimbus, and I feel the strong emotions between the two. _

_Sorry Argos, _Harry thought, still feeling a bit weird at having a conversation without speaking. To make matters worse it wasn't even with a human, but a phoenix.

_Does our link confuse you, human? _Argos dipped his head and ruffled his wings.

_Well, actually it kind of does_, thought Harry. _I don't know. It's just a bit strange that you're even here. Whose phoenix are you?_

_I am not bonded yet._

_Er...okay. What exactly does that mean?_

_It means I―_

"Harry? What's going on?" Hermione asked studying him and the phoenix both.

"Yeah mate," Ron said cautiously. "It looks like you two are talking, but I can't hear anything."

"That's it!" Hermione cried. She jumped up and ran to the other side of the room where all of the books were stacked on a table. Quickly shuffling through the pile she pulled one out and rejoined them. "I remember reading about that."

_What has happened, human? The female's aura has shifted. What has happened to excite her so? _Argos thought curiously.

Snorting, Harry answered. _Hermione always gets like that when she's on to something. You quickly learn to leave her be and wait. But it's usually always something big that sets her off. Any idea?_

"Any idea about what?" Ron asked.

Harry realized he must have said the last part out loud. Trying to hold a conversation in your head and pay attention to one outside was confusing. Thinking that Ron might know, Harry asked, "Any idea what Hermione's looking for?"

"Nah. You know how she is," Ron said grumbling. "She never tells us what she's on about, does she? First it was when she remembered Nicolas Flamel. Then it was finding out what the Slytherin's monster was, and then learning that Rita Skeeter was an illegal animagus. Who knows what it's about this time?"

Hermione was flipping through the book so fast, the images blurred together. Only when she stopped and scanned a page did Harry see the picture of a phoenix looking uncannily like Fawkes. About half the page down, Hermione started reading aloud.

"Unknown how it determines whom, the phoenix first appears in the aid of a person who's life energy is fading. After saving that person, the phoenix then disappears. It is thought that this is to give the witch or wizard time to cope with the fact that they had been chosen. From that point, the phoenix will only reappear if it is called."

"Blimey," Ron said gulping. He glanced at Harry. "You almost died. I never thought it was that bad."

Harry shrugged, not wanting to admit how scared he had actually been. Ron accepted this and didn't say anything else. Hermione skipped along the page until she caught another paragraph that sounded interesting.

"Initially the wizard, or witch, have a link with the phoenix allowing thoughts to be shared between the two. This link only lasts until the bonding is completed, at which point there is no need to talk. The wizard/witch will always be able to tell what the phoenix is feeling and thinking. It is believed that the phoenix shares the same connection. From that point the bond never dies until the wizard/witch die, or the witch/wizard performs an act of unforgivable hatred. Once either happens, the phoenix disappears, usually never seen again. There had been one case where―"

Once again, Hermione skipped along the book, turning the page. "Having a phoenix is a sign of great wizard/witch, as so far only extremely powerful witches/wizards have bonded. Even the dark wizard Grindelwald was once bonded with a phoenix. Until, that is, he committed his first killing. From that point, the promise of power and glory of the dark arts drew him away. His phoenix disappeared shortly thereafter."

"Wicked," Ron said smiling. "Do you know what this means Harry? Argos is going to be yours."

Shutting the book, Hermione shook her head. "Not only that Ron, but this proves that Harry's a powerful wizard."

"But I don't feel very powerful," Harry argued. "There's no way I can do the things Professor Dumbledore could, or even Voldemort for that matter."

Hermione bit her lip thinking. A minute later she smiled. "That's it Harry. The only reason you're not as powerful as either of them is because you haven't had the training they had. Or the knowledge of spells, for that matter."

"Wait a minute," Ron said. "Are you saying all we have to do is find someone to train us?"

"Exactly. Then we can study new spells, just like we did during the tournament and for the DA. With the three of us practicing, odds are we're bound to get the spellwork right," said Hermione. She glanced at her watch and leapt to her feet. "Oh my. Have you seen what time it is Harry?"

Harry looked at his own watch, his pulse quickening when he saw it was already a few minutes until nine. "There's no way we'll be able to make it on time. That's bloody brilliant. My first meeting and I'm going to be late."

"Maybe not," Hermione said, looking at Argos nervously. "Do you think he could, uh, flash us there? I mean, would he mind?"

Harry turned to the phoenix with a good question on his mind. _I don't know why I didn't ask earlier, but can you understand what anyone else is saying? Or is it just me?_

Argos hopped off the chair unto his shoulder. _Yes human. I understand perfectly well what all animals speak. Albeit, it is only you I can converse with. Please tell the female that I can what you call, flash, you three to where ever you chose. She is very thoughtful by asking first, though._

Grinning Harry nodded. "He wants me to tell you yes he can and that he appreciates you asking about him."

Hermione beamed while Ron shook his head. "Blimey Harry, it's still strange to see you talking with a phoenix. Mind you, it's loads better than watching you have a chat with a snake."

"Ron has a point there," said Hermione. She glanced between Harry and Argos. "So how are we going to do this? What do we have to do?"

Harry posed the question to Argos who jumped off his shoulder and fluttered above him. _Just as before, merely grab my tail feathers and have your friends hold on to you. Are you wanting to go to where my brother nested with his bondmate?_

It took Harry a second to realize that Argos was talking about Fawkes and Dumbledore in the Headmaster office. "Can you do that? I know Fawkes did it...but will the wards admit _us_?" Only when he received another strange look from Ron and Hermione did he realize that he had yet again spoken aloud.

_I really need to get a hang on this or people are going to start thinking I've gone crazy_, Harry thought. Argos gave a warble that Harry figured as laughter.

_Do not worry human. It will not be long before we bond. Then it will be instinct between us. As for the wards, they will not keep a phoenix out. What particular part of the building did you want to go to? The room of my brother's nest?_

_Yes, please._

Harry took a hold of Argos' tail, the familiar feeling of weightlessness enveloping him, and held out his other hand. "Hurry up guys. If I'm late, Tonks will probably beat me up. My arm still hurts from that punch earlier."

Ron sniggered. "You know, with everything that's been happening lately, I forget how much of a wimp you are."

So he wanted to play like that huh? Harry waited for Ron and Hermione to grab his hand then turned to Argos. _Hey can you do me a favor?_ Harry explained his plan, to which the phoenix gave another warble.

_Very well, human. _

A burst of cold flames enveloped them. Hermione gasped, clinging to Harry's shoulder. Then they were being squeezed from all sides, the familiar blackness of apparition. When they reappeared, it wasn't in the new Headmistress's office but the wet darkness of the Forbidden Forest.

"Where are we?" Hermione asked, looking around. She squinted into the trees. "Are we in the Forbidden Forest, Harry? What happened? I thought―"

She was interrupted by scream loud enough to burst ear drums. Smirking Harry turned to Ron. His best mate was staring, horrified, at something in the trees. Clutching Harry's shoulder, Ron started shouting for him to flash them out. Thinking that Ron had paid enough, Harry ignored the hundreds of Acromantulas clicking their way towards them and asked Argos to take them away.

They arrived in the Headmistress' office to find the whole new DA there, sitting around the table. At Harry, Hermione, and Ron's appearance the others jumped, a few yelping in surprise. But Harry was far too busy laughing to care that he had almost given half of the room a heart attack.

As he fell into an empty chair, clutching his stomach, still roaring, Hermione stood over him glaring. "Harry James Potter! What was the meaning of that? Do you know how dangerous that was? What if Argos couldn't get us out of there? What then? Your and Ron's little squabbles are going to get us killed one of these days."

"Relax Hermione. Argos would never have left us. Didn't you noticed we never let go of him?" Harry asked wiping tears off his face. He smirked at Ron. "Of course some of us may have to launder our underpants, huh Ron?"

Scowling Ron punched Harry in the shoulder. "Shove off Harry. I'll get you back sometime." Ron sounded spiteful but Harry could see the mirth in his eyes, so he knew their friendship was as strong as ever. Hermione must have seen the same thing.

"Boys," she huffed and threw herself in a seat next to Ginny.

Upon seeing his girlfriend, Harry wanted to rush over and snog her brainless, but then he saw the whole room was staring at him. Remus and Tonks were grinning, looking amused while Mrs. Weasley couldn't decide between being angry at them for being in whatever danger Hermione had been talking about, or happy to see them again. However, the rest of the room was what made him uncomfortable. Although most tried to hide it, they were looking at him in awe.

It wasn't until Argos sung a few calming notes and flew over to Fawkes' old perch, which McGonagall had never thrown out, that Harry realized why. Of course, seeing three teenagers appear suddenly in a room where Apparition was impossible was shocking to anyone. Combine that with the fact Harry now had a phoenix was enough to explain their reactions.

"Brilliant Harry!" Fred shouted clapping his hands.

"You always knew how to make an appearance," George added.

"Of course, now it's going to be difficult―"

"To top this one."

"But we have complete faith in you."

"After all, you are the mighty Chosen One."

It was exactly what was needed. Thanks to the twin's cheerful outburst the uncomfortable silence in the room vanished. It wasn't until he rose, that Harry saw he was now sitting at the head of the table. Then seeing the patient, expectant faces watching him made him realize that he really was the leader of these people. And perhaps the most surprising thing was that he didn't dread the thought anymore. If these people wanted a leader, then he was going to be one.

Clearing his throat, Harry pulled his wand out and waved it at the door to the office. An odd squelching sound emitted as the door sealed itself. He, Ron, and Hermione, had all discussed this a few days ago. His best friends thought that if he was going to lead these people, they needed to know the truth...well not all of it. The horcruxes wouldn't be shared. Just the Prophecy, as they deserved to know what they were getting into by following him. Looking around at the faces, he knew he could trust them. Besides almost half the room now knew, thanks to Professor Lupin, so he might as well tell the rest.

He looked over at McGonagall. "Professor? Do you still have Dumbledore's Pensieve?" he asked looking over at McGonagall. She nodded. "Do you mind if I borrow it for a minute?"

"Very well Mr. Potter. I believe you know where it is stored?"

Harry nodded. He went over to the black cabinet against the wall and opened the latch. Sure enough the stone basin lay within, empty. Carefully picking it up, he carried it back to the table and set it down. He looked up sheepishly. "Er, how exactly do I do this?"

Professor McGonagall had a small smile on her face when she answered. "Simply place your wand on your temple and concentrate on the memory you want to withdraw. The nonverbal incantation is _Secedo! _Then all you have to do is slowly pull your wand away."

Still feeling a little nervous, Harry raised his wand and did as she instructed. Before he could bring the memory out to the point where he could see it, several gasps came from the room.

"My goodness," McGonagall whispered staring at him.

It wasn't until the memory released that Harry saw the reason for their shocked stares. While Dumbledore's, even Snape's, memories had been a bright silvery airy substance Harry's was different. There was the same silver cloud-like center alright, but twisting in arcs around it were small green threads.

He thought he must have did it wrong and was thinking about trying again, but then Hermione caught his eyes and slightly shook her head with a look that clearly said _I'll explain it later. _

"Right. Well, what do I do now?" Harry asked, but Professor McGonagall wasn't paying attention. She, along with anyone else sitting near him, was staring into the Pensieve. "Professor?"

"Hmmm?" she asked finally tearing her gaze away. "Yes Mr. Potter?"

Fighting the urge to shove the memory back into his head so the others would stop looking at it, Harry said, "What do I do now? How do I get it to play above the surface? I saw Dumbledore do it once. I don't think we would all fit inside."

"Just wave your wand over it," Professor McGonagall stated simply.

Harry gently scooted the Pensieve to the center of the table so everyone would get a clear view. He paused, figuring he ought to explain what he was about to happen. It would be a tad confusing to just start the memory without them knowing what it meant. "Everyone here has heard about Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Neville, Luna, and me going to the Department of Mysteries, right?"

Everyone nodded, looking curious. "Well the Daily Prophet was right about one thing. There was a prophecy that the Death Eaters wanted badly. Either Voldemort or I were the only ones able to retrieve it. It was accidentally smashed later, during the battle."

Harry took a deep breath. Ginny narrowed her eyes and said, "You heard it haven't you?"

"Yes. Not at the Ministry, but later."

"How though?" Charlie asked raising up and leaning his elbows on the table. "If it was smashed and you didn't hear it then, where else did you hear it from?"

"Dumbledore," said Harry. "He was the one to whom the prophecy was made. Later that night he used the Pensieve to show it to me."

"Well then, on with it," George grinning and gesturing to the basin on the table.

"Yeah, enough with the suspense―" Fred added.

"And show us already."

"After all―"

"How bad can it be?" George finished.

Deciding that the twins were right and that he had explained enough, Harry reached out and waved his wand over the basin. Soon, the translucent figure rose up, floating eerily like a ghost.

"Sybill?" McGonagall cried incredulously. "What is the meaning of this? Surely you jest."

Harry didn't say anything, although the twins did show remarkable courage by shushing her. The soft and misty voice of the Divination's Professor poured through the room capturing everyone's attention.

_"The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches ... Born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies ... And the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not ... And either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives ... The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies..."_

Giving them time enough to digest it, when the slivery figure sank back into the stone basin, Harry slowly put the memory back into his head. He took twice as long as it would normally take to return the Pensieve to the black cabinet. Only when he was back in his chair did he look up.

The rest of the Weasleys, who didn't know beforehand, pretty much had the same reaction as Tonks. They just sat there staring at him wide eyed, although Harry was pretty sure he heard Bill curse under his breath. When Fleur slapped her groom to be on the shoulder, Harry almost smiled. Out of everyone there the worst reaction was Hagrid's.

The big man howled, burying his head in his huge hands. In between his sobs, Harry could hear Hagrid mumbling about it not being fair. He walked around the table to pat the half giant, which was a huge mistake. No sooner had Harry stopped beside him, that Hagrid turned around and practically threw himself against Harry, causing the latter to stumble backwards. Eventually, with the help of Mrs. Weasley and Professor McGonagall, Hagrid calmed down.

After that the meeting flew by. Harry informed them that Voldemort planned to attack during the wedding, which caused a mixed reaction among the Weasleys. Most of the men jumped up furious, while Mrs. and Mr. Weasley, along with Ginny, sat trying to comfort Fleur who had broken done crying.

Kingsley agreed to inform the Minister that he had heard word of a possible attack, and since Harry was going to be there, the attack was probable so some Aurors should be stationed at the Burrow. Everyone else in the DA agreed to help guard, which was no trouble as they all were going to be there in the first place.

When the meeting was over, and they were trickling out of the office, Harry stopped Tonks and Lupin. "Can you stay a minute?" After they both nodded, Harry turned around to say goodbye to the Weasleys. When he came to Ginny, it took all of his willpower to simply hug her.

"I love you too Harry Potter," Ginny whispered in his ear and was out of the door before he could respond.

Feeling as if he had just taken a whole bottle of calming draught along with an extremely powerful Cheering Charm, Harry went back to his chair and sank into it. Ginny Weasley loved him. Out of all the boys she could have, she had picked him. Grinning like a fool, Harry waited for Tonks and Lupin to join him, Ron, Hermione, and Professor McGonagall.

"Hey Harry," Lupin said stopping behind his seat, putting a hand on his shoulder. "So am I too assume that beautiful bird over there is the reason we survived? And that he has bonded to you?"

"Yeah, it flashed us out but we haven't bonded yet."

Lupin raised an eyebrow. "Really? Well from what I've heard, that's unusual."

"Why?" Harry asked curious. "Argos said that it won't be long."

"Well from what I've read , a phoenix usually doesn't flash a person until they have bonded. Of course, there's been less than five bondings in the past century to go on, so I might be wrong."

Harry smiled. "Actually, I think it's because we asked him."

Lupin chuckled, shaking his head. "I guess that would do it."

Tonks jumped up and took a seat on the table, swinging her legs. She turned to them. "So what is it you wanted Harry? Does Remus need to give you a little refresher course about―"

"No," Harry quickly answered, his face heating up. "Uhm, well, we were wondering if you and Professor Lupin would do us a favor?"

"Sure, just name it," Tonks said while Lupin nodded.

So that's what Harry did. He asked them to train him, Ron, and Hermione. He figured Tonks would be great at the physical part, as he had heard that the Auror program had an intensive training period. While Lupin could help with his magical skills. Surprising him, Professor McGonagall agreed to help them with their Transfiguration. Remembering how Professor Dumbledore had used it during his fight with Voldemort, Harry thankfully agreed.

"So when do we want to start this?" Lupin asked.

"I think we shouldn't worry about it until after the wedding," Hermione said.

"That sounds good," Harry said agreeing.

Tonks and Lupin left. Harry stood up, deciding it was time to leave also. There was still the matter of going back in the Chamber of Secrets. Argos flew off the perch, and down onto his shoulder. The three said goodnight to the Headmistress and left.

"Hey Harry, I bet Moaning Myrtle is still saving her stall for you," Ron joked. He suddenly stopped, giving Harry a glare. "Wait a minute. I'm not going to have to tell Ginny you left her am I?"

"You know Ron, I think Argos will flash you back to the forest if I was to ask him nicely," Harry said.

"Will you two please stop for a minute?" Hermione asked impatiently. She was leading them to the girls bathroom. "We're about to go somewhere dangerous and all you two can do is joke around."

"Relax Hermione," Ron said calmly. "Harry's already taken care of the Basilisk. The only thing we have to worry about is getting hit in the head from a falling rock."

Harry couldn't believe his luck. When they got to the bathroom, Moaning Myrtle wasn't there. Thankful that he didn't have to deal with the miserable ghost, he went straight to the sink with the tiny snake etched on the tap. Concentrating on the snake, imagining it squirming, Harry hissed, "_Open._"

Bright light covered the sink. Glowing it slowly began moving. As it sank below the floor, a large pipe was exposed. Harry peeked inside and wasn't all that surprised to see the pipe slimy and dark, just like it was before. Hermione however took one look into the hole and backed up looking nervous.

"Harry?" she squeaked. "Do you think Argos would mind flashing us in? Wouldn't it be easier? I mean think about it. Then we wouldn't have to get all dirty would we?"

_How about it Argos? Can you take us?_ Harry thought, wondering why he didn't think of flashing in the first place.

_I am sorry human. I can not take you to a place so seeped with dark magic. I can not flash to such a place._

"Oh, okay. Thanks anyway Argos," Harry said. He glanced at Hermione. "Sorry. He says the dark magic interferes with his ability to flash. Guess we're going this way after all. Look Hermione, you don't have to go. Just wait for us up here."

Hermione shook her head and squared her shoulders. "No, I'm going." Then before she could loose her nerve she ran and jumped into the pipe, screaming as she slid away. Calling her name, Ron went next. Chuckling, Harry followed.

Just like before, the pipe twisted many times. Smaller holes leading off from theirs were spaced out so often. Suddenly the pipe tilted downwards, causing him to pick of speed. In what seemed no time at all, it evened out and he shot into a dark cavern, coming to a stop at Hermione's feet.

"I don't care how many times I go down that thing. I'll never get used to it," Ron said grimacing as he wiped large glops of slime off his wand. "We should get the house elves down here to clean it."

"Ron!" Hermione cried whirling around to face him, her wand pointed over his shoulder. She had been in the middle of spelling the grime off her robes. "The house elves do enough as it is. How would you like to be ordered around all day?"

"Hermione we've been through this before. They...enjoy...it," Ron said pronouncing the words slowly.

"Honestly Ron, that's only because they don't know any better. If they knew what they were missing, I'm sure they would change their mind. Look at how much Dobby enjoys his freedom."

Ignoring them, Harry set off down the tunnel the only sound was the shattering of the small animal bones below his feet. From the crunching coming from behind him, he knew Ron and Hermione were following. They followed the path around a few turns and then came upon the giant snake skin.

"Oh my," Hermione gasped. Harry and Ron however hardly noticed it. After all, the two of them had seen it before. They walked around it and came to the part Harry hadn't been looking forward to. The cave in caused from Lockhart trying to use a memory charm, only to have it backfired, was in front of them. Over four years ago Ron had shifted some of the rock away to make a space big enough for Harry and Ginny to get back through. But they were quite bigger now so the hole was too small.

Harry was on his way to move the rocks by hand when Hermione tutted. "Harry. Are you or are you not a wizard? As long you're careful, you can levitate the rocks out of the way."

Feeling stupid that he hadn't thought of that, Harry pulled out his wand. A few moments later the three of them had created a sizable hole in the cave in. Argos flew through it first, his cry echoing from the other side. Harry motioned for his friends and clambered over the rocks. There was a scare when he almost fell halfway down the other side, but he managed to get his foot down in time.

It wasn't long before they came upon the snake door. Once again Harry hissed a few words in Parseltongue to open it. They stepped into the dimly lit chamber. Ron and Hermione both gaped at the huge columns towering all the way to the ceiling. As he walked to the far end of the chamber, Harry again had the feeling that the snakes intertwined around the columns were turning their heads to glare at him.

Instead of Ginny' small unconscious form laying on the ground near the statue of Salazar Slytherin, there was the huge form of the Basilisk. It looked as if it had just been killed the day before. Why hadn't it decomposed by now? After all, it had been over four years since he killed it.

"Bloody hell Harry!" Ron whispered quietly. "I know you said it was big, but this thing's enormous."

Before he could say anything Harry nearly fell on his backside as Hermione plowed into him, wrapping her arms around him. "Harry, what were you thinking? You could have been killed. How were you able to kill such a monster when you were only eleven? Weren't you scared?"

As Hermione pulled away, Harry's cheeks warmed. Couldn't they see that it was only luck? If it hadn't been for Fawkes' timely arrival, he would have been killed. Besides, he hadn't been thinking straight. All the time he was in the Chamber he had been thinking about Ginny. Even back then she had been important to him. The only thing that changed was that now instead of being Ron's sister she was the one he loved.

"I don't know Hermione," Harry said grimly glancing at the snake. He jumped slightly as Argos flew down and landed on his shoulder. The phoenix softly sang a few notes, calming him. "I guess I was too worried about Ginny and angry at Tom to be scared. I just did what I had to. No big deal."

"No big deal?" Ron asked incredulously. "Take a look at that thing. It has to be over sixty feet long, yet you killed it with a sword. That's a very big deal Harry. Who else can say they slain a Basilisk?"

A small smile crossed his face. Leave it to Ron to make him feel better. Harry walked over to the snake and knelt down beside its head. He didn't want to give Slughorn the fang he had destroyed Riddle's diary with since it was covered with ink. He carefully wrapped one hand around another of the Basilisk's fangs and pulled. It didn't budge.

"Merlin!" Harry panted. "Why hasn't this thing decomposed yet? I thought it would be easier than this."

"Well that's obvious isn't it?" Hermione stepped closer, studying the snake. She slowly ran a hand down the scaly hide. "Basilisk are so rare and full of dark magic, that not only do they live for hundreds of years, but it usually takes just as long for them to rot away."

After Harry gave another might tug, with no results, Ron joined them. "Why don't you try summoning it?"

It reminded Harry briefly of that night a couple of weeks ago where he had asked the same question of Dumbledore. Harry stepped back pulling Hermione with him and basically told Ron the same thing Dumbledore had told him. "Good question. Go ahead and try it."

Ron raised his eyebrow. "Uh, okay. If you're sure."

"_Accio_ fang!" Ron yelled.

The Basilisk's head twitched then slowly lifted off the ground. For one horrifying second the picture of the entire snake flying towards Ron and crushing him, flashed through Harry's mind. He wanted to shout for Ron to stop the summoning spell but it was too late. With an odd squelching noise, one of the fangs slipped out and flew across the chamber.

Harry, after years of training from spotting the snitch, followed it. Ron, however, wasn't fast enough. Before he could even jump out of the way or stop the spell, the fang sank into his shoulder. He cried out, sinking to his knees.

"Ron!" Harry and Hermione both screamed. They rushed to his side to find the redhead trying to pull the fang out but his arm was shaking so bad he couldn't get a proper hold on it. When he looked up, his face was covered in sweat.

"That bloody hurt," he gasped. His face was getting paler by the second. "Remind me...not to do t-that a-a-again."

Ron's eyes rolled up into the back of his head and he fell sideways, his body making a small splash on the wet ground. Hermione knelt down, picked Ron's head off the floor and put in her lap, all the while sobbing.

"Argos!" Harry cried, realizing the phoenix was no longer on his shoulder. The bird appeared beside him. "Can you heal him? _Please_"

_I will try_, Argos thought to him and hopped unto Ron's chest. He leaned his head down over the gaping wound in the red head's shoulder. A few drops of sparkling tears fell from his beak, glittered over the wound for a few seconds then disappeared. The hole slowly started to heal over, but Ron didn't wake up. Color was returning to his face, which was the only sign that the phoenix tears were helping.

_I have did all that I can human_, Argos said settling himself back on Harry's shoulder. _He received a large dose of venom. It is mostly gone now but the lingering drops of it must work through his system. He needs a few days rest._

_Thanks Argos. You were great_, Harry thought. He reached over and put a hand on Hermione's shoulder, squeezing lightly. "He's going to be okay Hermione. Argos said a few days in bed and he'll be good as new. Come on let's get him out of here."

Hermione nodded and carefully set Ron's head on the ground. She stood up and used the same spell Lupin and Sirius used in their third year to levitate Snape out of the shrieking shack. She started walking towards the entrance back to the tunnels, Ron floating ahead of her. Harry started to follow, but halfway there Hermione stopped him.

"Don't forget the fang Harry," she said tipping her head back in the direction where it lay.

"What? That can wait. I more worried about Ron. Don't you think―"

Hermione gave him a hard stare. "There's no point in us going through all of this and having nothing to show for it. Would Ron want you to break your promise just because something wrong happened?"

When she put it that way, Harry had to admit she was right. Reluctantly, he left Hermione there and went back to pick up the fang. He grabbed it and was straightening up when he locked gaze with one of the snake intertwined with the column. The way the eyes seemed to glow, Harry was sure it was alive. Fed up with everything that had been happening lately, he suddenly screamed.

"WHAT? What do you bloody want? _Tell me!"_

He realized Hermione probably thought he finally lost his mind and that he had lapsed into parseltongue while screaming but he didn't care. Oddly enough he felt tons better now. But it didn't last long. A hiss filled the air, and the snake head turned to him, actually all the snake heads. But what made him want to hurry up and get out of there was when the giant statue of Slytherin looked at him, his mouth opening.

"_He who speaks the great language is welcome. Come forth and receive the key to my knowledge. For only my heir is worthy of such power, beware the non speaker for death waits in its stead. Enter and be enlightened,_" the stony voice ground out in parseltongue.

A line appeared in the rock between its legs creating a gap. It rumbled open, dust pouring out of the darkness within. As the stone came to a rest, torches flared inside illuminating a small room. Harry peeked inside. Rolls upon rows of parchment filled the walls. All the way around the room shelves of the scrolls were stacked from the floor to the ceiling twenty feet overhead. That is except for one spot.

Directly across the newly made gap was a golden snake head. Two large red gems, representing its eyes, reflected the firelight. Only when Harry took a step closer to examine it did he realize his mistake. The second he stepped foot in the room the eyes of the snake glowed and a brilliant shade of red light burst from them, shooting directly into Harry's chest.

He vaguely heard Hermione shout his name but he couldn't say a word. The pain ripping across his chest kept him from breathing, much less talking. It felt as if he was under the Cruciatus and being boiled from the inside at the same time. His scar erupted adding even more pain, but it was nowhere near as bad as his body. All the time he was concentrating on keeping the blackness at the edges of his vision away. Finally the pain abruptly stopped and images flashed across his sight.

The last thing he saw was a small house, half hidden behind a small forest of trees. Behind it in the distance, rose a snow covered mountain. Everything about the place looked alright, but he could feel the dark energy radiating from it. Briefly he wondered if this was the mysterious cottage everyone seemed to know about but him, but then he knew it wasn't. Something so steeped in dark magic couldn't possibly belong to the Potters...could it?

Although he didn't move a foot, the house was getting closer. A second later he was standing at the door, upon which was etched a pair of snakes forming two identical letters. He tentatively reached out and touched them. Squirming and hissing, they rearranged themselves, breaking off into smaller snakes forming a name.

_Salazar Slytherin_.

"Harry! Come on Harry, wake up! Please don't do this," Hermione's panicking voice rang through the air. The house suddenly vanished and he was laying on a cold damp floor. Hermione's face hovered above, tears falling from her eyes. He wanted to tell her to move, that she was getting him wet, but soon realized he didn't have the energy. As she grabbed him and starting shaking his shoulders, Harry closed his eyes and the darkness overtook him.


	10. Interlude 1 Conversations

**Chapter 10 – Interlude 1 (Conversations)**

Voldemort drummed his fingers on his chair. For the past three hours he had been thinking about one thing in particular. The Slytherin Estate that he had spent three years in after leaving that pathetic, blithering Burke's store. He hadn't thought about that place in over twenty years and yet just a little while ago the image of the remote cabin suddenly flashed into his mind. What infuriated him even more was that Potter had been there, stroking the same namesake knocker.

To make matters worse, his connection with the little brat was foggy. Every few minutes he would try to break through the pathetic shield Potter had erected in his mind. But the only thing waiting for him in Potter's mind was darkness. Either Potter had become an accomplished Occlumens overnight, or he was unconscious. The thought of the boy laying in a hospital bed clinging to life thrilled him, yet he had to admit he was curious as to why Potter was in such a position in the first place. Under his commands, the Death Eaters had been ordered not to lay a finger on Potter. So did he have another traitor in his midst or did the boy make some other enemy perhaps?

Snarling, Voldemort jumped out of his chair and started pacing the room. Things were not going according to his plans. First one of his most loyal subjects had turned traitor. He always knew that Severus was too good at Occlumency, but he couldn't deny the man had fed him useful information about Hogwarts and the day to day operations of the Order of the Phoenix. No matter, as soon as he finds him, Voldemort planned on making sure Severus Snape dies very slowly.

Second was the fact that Wormtail has yet to report. The cowardly little rat did not have the courage to betray him. The only explanation he could think of was that he had been captured. As far as he was concerned the rat had already outlived his usefulness. Wormtail could just stay wherever he was.

"Bellatrix!" Voldemort shouted, stopping suddenly and whirling toward the door. A second later the squat witch hurried in, bowing so low her hood almost touched the floor.

"Yes master?" the witch asked, kneeling before him.

"Give me your arm," Voldemort ordered taking the arm when she held it out. He pushed her robe out of the way and jabbed the mark with his wand relishing the pain that he knew must flow through Bellatrix's arm.

He threw the arm down and returned to his seat. Seconds later, hooded figures appeared around his throne. Each of them took turns to crawl forward and kneel before him. After the last Death Eater was in his place, Voldemort stood up, raising his wand. As he spoke he moved it from person to person, enjoying the fear in his subjects' eyes.

"It has recently come to my attention that one of you has disobeyed me," he said stopping in front of a hefty masked man. "This person will be dealt with accordingly. If you step forward now I assure you that your death will be quick."

None of the figures dared move an inch. "No one then? Not one person here has the courage to face his destiny? Very well then."

In the blink of an eye, Voldemort disappeared in a swirl of his black cloak. He reappeared directly in front of a man who had blond hair poking out from his mask. "Crucio!" The man fell to the floor, screaming. Voldemort took a moment to absorb the man's pain and fear, then lifted the curse.

"Throw him in with the Dementors for a couple of days," he ordered a few of the Death Eaters. Ignoring the pleas of the man being dragged away, Voldemort returned to his chair. "Bellatrix come here. Everyone else, leave us."

The witch once more knelt before him, awaiting his orders. When the others were gone, Voldemort told her to get up. As he explained his plan for attacking the blood traitor Weasleys, her eyes sparkled with excitement. As soon as he was through he told her to leave.

"But remember Bellatrix," Voldemort hissed grinning darkly. "This is your last chance. Fail this time, Dementors will seem merciful compared to what I'll have it store for you."

"Y-yes Master," she whispered, her throat catching. She quickly left the room.

In three days, the message would be delivered that those who stand with Potter will be killed. Voldemort only wanted the boy to be awake when he heard the news that his precious girlfriend was dead, along with her family. Smirking, he went back to checking Potter's defense. His mind was still filled with darkness. No matter though, when Potter woke, he would be there to welcome him back.

-------------

Minerva McGonagall watched as Mrs. Granger left her office. She hated to yell at one of her favorite students, but she felt she had to do it. The three teenagers should have informed her that they were planning to go to the Chamber of Secrets after the DA meeting. Being the only one awake, Mrs. Granger bore the majority of her frustration.

The Headmistress knew she should get up and put on some proper attire but couldn't quite yet muster the energy to do so. She leaned back in her chair, sighing. This feeling of helplessness had been constant companion to her ever since Albus died, and after the revelations of the night before, she knew it would only get worse. No matter how much she wanted to help, it would come down to Mr. Potter alone to defeat Voldemort.

"If I'm not mistaken, I believe you now know what I've been feeling ever since we placed Harry with his relatives all those years ago," said a warm voice from above McGonagall, startling her.

She clutched her chest, scowling at the blank spot of wall behind her desk. "Albus! You have got to stop doing that."

"Ah, I am sorry Minerva, my dear," Dumbledore's calm voice said seemingly coming from nowhere.

Nodding, McGonagall grabbed her wand off her desk. She waved it at the blank spot on her wall. As the concealing charm was removed, Dumbledore's portrait came into view. The old wizard was reclining in a chintz chair, his fingers steepled together. He looked down at her, his eyes twinkling even in the painting.

"Why, Albus, must we keep up this charade?" McGonagall asked impatiently. "Surely you know, you must reveal yourself at one point?"

Dumbledore smiled sadly. "You are correct Minerva. But for now, Mr. Potter and his friends can not know I am here. There are still some things Mr. Potter must find out on his own. If he knew I was here, I'm afraid he would come to me with all of his questions instead of finding the answers for himself. That could prove to be tragic."

McGonagall sighed again. "I know all of that. It is the fact that I'm getting tired of lying to them. Mrs. Granger especially, as she will soon find out that my story doesn't quite add up with what's been happening."

"Yes. I believe Sirius was quite correct with his appraisal of her."

"Really? What was that?"

Dumbledore leaned forward in his portrait, chuckling. "I believe he was always saying that she was the smartest witch of her age. If Harry had not befriended her during his first year, I'm afraid to say that Voldemort would have returned three years sooner."

McGonagall finally smiled. "Yes, I've always thought Mrs. Granger held their little group together. She certainly helped them pass their subjects. I only wish they would come back for their seventh year. That is, if the governors chose to reopen the school."

An elderly wizard appeared in one of the other portraits, panting slightly. "Headmistress ma'am. The Weasleys are here to ask about their son."

"Thank you," McGonagall told the wizard and turned back to Dumbledore. "I don't know how much longer I can keep this up Albus, but I will keep going until someone finds out."

As she cast the concealment charm, and his portrait disappeared, Dumbledore's voice floated out once more. "Do not worry Minerva, my dear. I believe after Harry's birthday I can reveal myself. He is already further along than I have hoped. It won't be long before the pieces of the puzzle are locked together."

-------------

"Weasley! Get in here NOW!"

Percy Weasley rushed into the room, balancing an armful of parchment, his quill, and a bottle of ink. He quickly set it all down at his desk in the corner and took his seat. Grabbing one of the pieces of parchment, he dipped his quill in the ink and waited for the Minister to begin.

The Minister gave the Weasley boy a slight scowl then turned back to his guest and offered him a glass of firewhiskey. The man sitting across from him declined, muttering something about never drinking anything other than what he fixed himself. Nodding Rufus Scrimgeour waved his wand at the door which slammed shut.

"Now," he began calmly. "What did you have to tell me that is important enough to get me out of bed at this ungodly hour? There's only two things that I can think of which I would care enough for. Which is it? Mr. Potter or Lord Voldemort?"

"Aye, it's the boy," Alastor Moody said, giving the side of his head a whack as his magical eye got stuck. When it finally started whirling around again he went on. "I've learned something very useful concerning Mr. Potter. Something that may get us what we want."

"Very well. What is it then?"

Moody chuckled. "Not so fast Rufus. There's something I want from you first. I believe you know what I'm referring to?"

Scrimgeour sighed, nodding. "Fine. It shall be done by lunch tomorrow. Now what about Mr. Potter? It had better not be about the fact that he's currently residing at Hogwarts infirmary."

"Oh no. This is much better. Do you remember when Peter Pettigrew was brought in?"

Scrimgeour arched an eyebrow. "I do. What does he have to do with Potter?"

"I think the better question here is, what doesn't he have to do with the boy?" Moody said grinning, clearly enjoying this too much. "But to better answer your question...Mr. Pettigrew recently had Veritaserum in his system. As he came directly from the residence Potter is staying at, I think it's pretty obvious who forced it on him."

"Interesting," Scrimgeour said, running his hand through his beard. He stood up and started pacing. "So with this information we―Mr. Weasley you are excused. Leave us."

"But sir―"

"That was an order Mr. Weasley. I suggest you follow it," Scrimgeour said dangerously. When Percy started gathering up his transcript, the Minister shook his head. "No. Leave those here. If you know what's best for your career you will forget this meeting."

Percy nodded dumbly and quickly hurried out the door. When the Minister once again sealed the door and turned around Moody leaned back with his arms crossed.

"I still don't see why you keep him around," Moody said scowling. "What's the point in keeping transcripts of your conversations. That's just something bad waiting to happen. I've heard of a muggle politician―"

Scrimgeour sneered. "Save you idiotic ramblings for someone who cares Alastor. As for your question, I do believe anything I do is none of your business. Now about Potter."

By the time Moody left, Scrimgeour was in a great mood. Finally after trying for months now, Potter would soon be doing what he wanted. Either that, or spend the next fifteen years in Azkaban. Now all he needed to do was wait until the boy woke up. He was quite intrigued as to why Potter was in the hospital wing in the first place but Scrimgeour knew he would never find out from one of the boy's friends. The whole bunch were just too damned loyal to him, just as Potter had been to Dumbledore.

Grinning the Minister walked over to the desk his assistant used during meetings to transcribe everything said. He flicked his wand at the rolls of parchment currently laying there, and watched as they burst into flames. A few minutes later, all that was left was a small pile of ashes.

Rufus Scrimgeour was not stupid. He knew perfectly well whom Alastor had been talking about. He had no intentions of the same happening to him. Unlike the blubbering oaf that preceded him, Scrimgeour liked to know anything he could. If that meant reading about what was going on in the muggle world, so be it. The one quick way to gain power was information.

After all, look what some simple little information was going to do over the next month. Potter was going to be the Ministry's poster boy, so to speak, whether he wanted to or not. Scrimgeour went back to his desk and sat down. Now all he had to do was wait.

-------------

It was late but that didn't stop Rita Skeeter from working. In fact she liked to write up her articles in the middle of the night, as that way she didn't have to worry about anyone seeing what she was working on. She scratched out a sentence and rewrote it. This article had to be perfect, otherwise little miss goody would throw a fit.

However, that wasn't the only reason she wanted it to be well written. This was her chance to get back to where she belonged, the best reporter in wizarding Brittan. What better piece to do it with than the story of the famous Potter murders and the man who had betrayed them, fooling the entire wizarding world in the process.

Of course, the fact that she had been blackmailed into to writing it in the first place still irked her. Just who did that brat Granger think she was? All it did was make her work harder to find some dirt against the muggle-born. So far nothing incriminating turned up, but she wasn't going to give up yet. It would turn up eventually. It always did. Everyone had a secret. The hard thing was finding it.

It was a few minutes to three before she finally finished it. Leaning back in her chair she fought a yawn. Now the only thing left to do was let Potter read it. Of course, that would have to wait until the kid woke up. She would have loved to know how he had ended up in the hospital wing in the first place. Although it wouldn't be a big piece...unless he was injured fighting Death Eaters, that is.

Rita rolled up her article, stuffed it into her bag, and turned the lights off in her office. She would go home, get a few hours of sleep, then get over to the Ministry early that morning. There was a man there who had owled, telling her he had quite a scoop if she wanted it. Of course being a seasoned reporter, Rita had immediately asked how much he wanted. But to her surprise the man had said nothing except for the fact that he didn't want his name anywhere near this information.

The whole thing was intriguing enough to pique her interest, so she decided to follow through with it and see where it would lead her. A trace on the owl would be useless, as she recognized the standard Ministry bird. Anyone working there could have sent it. Oh well, if it was free, than she had nothing to complain about did she?

Walking past her editor's office, she was surprised to see a light under the door. Mr. Tettle always left at seven sharp, wanting to be home in time for supper. When she first started working Rita had soon learned that although Mr. Tettle held the title of editor, it was Mrs. Tettle who held the power.

"Hurry up Professor. I don't want to be in this mudblood's office any more than I have to," drawled the voice of young man.

Rita froze. She recognized that voice. After all, his father had certainly been to the paper many times when Fudge had been the Minister. Two different actions fought for control inside her. One part knew that she would be killed if she was found out, and yet the other part couldn't help but think of how big of a story this could be. Unluckily for her it was the latter half that won, so she crept closer to the door and listened.

"Quiet! Do you want someone to hear you? Do me a favor and keep your mouth shut for once in your life," a man hissed.

Rita nearly cried out in excitement. This was even better than she realized. The wizarding world's most wanted man, other than Voldemort himself of course, was standing less than ten feet from her. She could already see the front page headline. If only she could get a picture of the two.

"Don't talk to me like that," the younger one cried angrily. "If it wasn't for me, you would be dead by now."

"If it wasn't for you Draco, I wouldn't have done what I had to," Snape said calmly. "Do you even realize what the Dark Lord would have done to you?"

"What? I got the Death Eaters inside the building didn't I?"

"I admit, that part was accomplished quite well. Yet, you failed to do the one task he set for you to begin with. He would have killed you for failing. I don't think he even expected you to actually do it."

There was silence in the room for a minute. Pressing her ear against the door, Rita heard the slight ruffling of what had to be files. What did Dumbledore's murderer want with the Daily Prophet editor's files?

"Was Potter really there on the tower?" Draco asked. He sounded as if he was trying to keep from letting his emotions show in his voice. "I asked the Professor who was with him but he told me no one."

"Albus could lie as well as the next wizard," Snape said simply. "He wasn't as perfect as you think. In fact―ah, here it is!"

"It's about time," Draco cried sarcastically. "I was just getting used to the stench of mudblood."

Then before Rita could move, the door swung open. She froze. That was what hurt her. A second later she came to her senses and quickly changed into her animagus form. The beetle scuttled away in the direction of the front doors but she was too late.

"I don't think so Mrs. Skeeter," Snape called sneering.

There was a flash of light and she found herself laying on the floor, human once again. Trembling she turned over. The two Death Eaters approached, both smirking. She raised her hands. "P-Please. I won't tell anyone you were here. I swear!"

This time it was Draco who sneered. "Oh, I know you won't. You think we should make it quick Professor? Or draw it out?"

Snape shook his head pointing his wand at her chest. "As much as I would like to show Mrs. Skeeter the errors of he way, we do not have the time."

"Fine," Draco pouted, crossing his arms.

Snape raised his wand and hissed a word. The last thing Rita saw was a flash of light leaping across the small gap between them. Snape and Draco stared at her for a minute then glanced at the door.

"Go ahead," Snape said handing Draco something and shoving him in the direction of the door. "I'll take care of her and meet you there."

"Whatever," Draco said boringly and left.

After depositing Mrs. Skeeter, Snape walked out of the office, leaving the lights burning behind him.

It was an hour later before someone stirred in the office. Rita Skeeter moaned, then straightened up wincing as her back popped. Glancing around she realized she must have fallen asleep. It was already four thirty. That only left her a few hours of sleep before she had to get over to the Ministry. There was someone over there that had some information that could be interesting.

She turned the lamps off in her office, and left. Now all she had to do was get Potter to read her article. But that would have to wait until the boy woke up. If only she could find out why he was in the hospital wing...

-------------

Ginny threw one last pair of muggle jeans into her pack and slung it over her shoulder. At the door she paused, listening. The rest of the house was silent, meaning that everyone else was still asleep. She tiptoed out of her room and down the stairs, being sure to step over the one that creaked horribly.

At first she had been hesitant to leave a note for her family, after all where else would she go but to be at Harry's side? But the more she thought about it, she realized that she didn't want them to think she had been taken by Death Eaters. So on the way past the kitchen table she set the piece of parchment down on the table, where her mum was sure to see it when she got up and began breakfast.

The air outside was chilly, a little unusual for that time of year, but she wasn't going to let that stop her. It took awhile to get to the broom shed, as it was so dark she could hardly see the small shed much less the ground. She cursed as she stubbed her foot against a rock and nearly fell but kept going.

After opening the door she stopped staring at the brooms inside. This was where she wasn't sure about going ahead with the plan. Out of all the brooms there, Ron's was the best one but she really didn't like taking it with out asking first. But, of course, she couldn't have asked him for permission, for he would have never let her go.

Sure, she used to sneak out and take rides on the brooms when no one else noticed, but that was different. She always brought them back within an hour or two. This time there was no telling how long she would be gone. Finally she decided that if Ron wanted to be mad at her, she would deal with that when it came. Seeing Harry was more important.

There was no other way to describe the trip, but miserable. Traveling six hours on a broom in the middle of the night, with a cold wind threatening to knock her off, was something she never wanted to repeat. Just when the sky started to turn light grey, she saw the peaks of the Hogwarts towers in the distance.

When she got off her broom, she was stiff and shivering. Hurrying through the gates she quickly walked up to the front door. But when she grabbed a hold of the ring to pull it open, it wouldn't budge an inch. Frustrated Ginny pounded her fists on the door, turned around and sank down onto the ground.

"Harry, I'm sorry," Ginny muttered close to tears. After traveling all the way from the Burrow she was being stopped from seeing her boyfriend by a locked door. "I promise I'll be there as soon as someone comes down for breakfast. It shouldn't be long. I just want to see―"

She screamed as something burst into flames above her. For a second she thought someone was shooting curses at her, and quickly scanned the grounds. But then there was a flash of black feathers and a warm weight settled on her shoulder. She let out her breath, relieved. It was only Harry's phoenix.

"Hey Argos. Can you give a girl some warning next time? You scared me half death," Ginny said smiling. She stroked the bird feathers.

Argos rubbed his head against her cheek then hopped off her shoulder and flew a few feet above her, his tail in front of her face. He chirped a few times looking at her.

"You want me to grab it?" Ginny asked. She didn't even know if he could understand her but she couldn't help but asking, "Are you going to take me to Harry?"

Once again the phoenix chirped, which Ginny took as a yes. She slowly reached out and closed her hand around the tail feathers, hoping that she wouldn't end up in the middle of nowhere. As soon as the light feeling spread across her body, Argos lifted her a foot of the ground and then they both disappeared.

-------------

Hermione collapsed into the chair, her feet cramping. For the past twenty three hours she had been going back and forth between the Burrow and Hogwarts. Since she couldn't floo or Apparate directly to the hospital wing at Hogwarts, it meant a lot of walking. She pulled her shoes off and cast a warming charm on her feet, hoping the heat would relax the tendons.

It was getting late, and since Ron was doing alright and he had Mrs. Weasley to look after him, Hermione decided to stay the night with Harry. Although Madam Pomfrey had tried everything she could think of to wake him, he still hadn't shown any signs of life except for his deep shallow breathing. She stood up, levitated the chair beside his bed and grabbed his hand.

"Come on Harry. You need to wake up," Hermione whispered tiredly. "I don't know how much longer the Weasleys can keep Ginny from coming and staying with you. Fleur would be devastated if that were to happen. She's been having too much fun trying out new robes on Ginny."

For the next hour, Hermione talked to Harry telling him everything that had happened since he had passed out. About how she had to carefully levitate the two of them back to the tunnel slide and then how she had to tie them together so she could hold Argos' tail with one hand and them with the other.

"You should have been there. I've never seen Professor McGonagall so furious," Hermione said smiling a bit. "After we had Madam Pomfrey take a look at the two of you, she lectured me on how irresponsible it had been not to tell her that we were going into the Chamber. To tell you the truth, it was a little disturbing being shouted at by her when she has her hair down and is wearing her night dressing robes."

In the end, Hermione just sat holding Harry's hand. Every once and awhile, Argos would sing for a minute or two. It made her feel better but apparently it wasn't helping Harry for he never moved. When the phoenix fell silent Hermione would thank him and reassure him that Harry would be alright, although she was having a hard time believing it herself.

Going without sleep for over a day and a half caught up to her and she fell asleep, her head resting on the side of Harry's bed. In what seemed like a minute she jerked awake as there was a flash of light. She looked around for a second before it dawned on her that it had only been Argos leaving. That struck her as odd. Ever since Harry was knocked unconscious by that mysterious red light, the phoenix had not left him for a second. So why did he all of a sudden flash away?

Hermione was still thinking about it when another flash of light came. But Argos wasn't alone. Surprised, Hermione stared at the small girl with windswept hair before standing up.

"Ginny? How did you get here? Did Argos go to the burrow and pick you up?"

Ginny shook her head. Before answering she walked over to Harry's bed and sat down on it, taking his hand. "I flew here on Ron's broom but the door was locked. Argos flashed me in."

"Flew? Wait a minute...you flew all the way here from the Burrow?" Hermione asked incredulously.

"Yeah. I tell you what. My bottom has never been so sore."

Hermione stared for a second then they both laughed. It felt good to do something other than cry. A few minutes later, Hermione grabbed Harry's other hand. "You know, I was telling Harry a little while ago that he needed to wake up because you wouldn't stay away for long. Guess I was right."

Ginny reached out and pushed a few strands of Harry's hair out of his face. When she turned to Hermione she had a completely serious expression. "I love him Hermione."

"I know."

"Every minute I was home I couldn't think straight, knowing that Harry was here unconscious. I don't care what happens, I'm not leaving until he wakes up," Ginny said firmly.

"You don't have to tell me Ginny. I don't blame you," Hermione said softly. She leaned over, planted a kiss on Harry's cheek and stood up. "In fact, I think I'm going back to see how Ron is? Will you be alright?"

"Yes," Ginny said. Hermione nodded, said goodnight and started walking to the infirmary door. Halfway there Ginny jumped up and ran to her. "Hermione! I, uhm, well...thanks."

She hugged the older girl, surprising her. Then before Hermione could say anything Ginny turned around and went back to Harry.

When Hermione walked out of Hogwarts, she had a smile on her face. It was obvious that Harry and Ginny loved each other. Every time they met, she could see both struggling to keep from jumping into the other's arms. Even though she was happy for her friends, she still felt a little disappointed. If only Ron...

No. There was no point in thinking about that. It would take as long as it took. In the meantime, she would be there waiting for the right time. At the front gates, she stopped and looked out over the lake behind her. The sun was rising, the sky brilliant shades of pink, red, purple, and orange. It never failed to surprise her that even with Voldemort's evil in the world, beautiful things like this particular sunset still occurred everyday.

-------------

Madam Pomfrey was exhausted by the time she crawled into her bed that first night. She was just getting ready, when Mrs. Granger had barged into the hospital wing screaming. When she rushed out to see what was happening, Madam Pomfrey found the bushy haired girl very much near a breakdown, with two bodies floating behind her.

The first thing the nurse did was gently lower the boys into beds and then turn to Mrs. Granger. She forced the girl to take a calming draught and then explain what had happened. Even though she wasn't panicking anymore, the girl still sobbed through out the story of going into the Chamber of Secrets.

After hearing the details, Madam Pomfrey rushed over to Mr. Potter first. If what Mrs. Granger had said was true, it sounded as if he needed attention worse than Mr. Weasley. The phoenix tears going through the red head would suffice until she had a look at her most frequent patient.

However, she quickly found out there was nothing she could do for Mr. Potter. Everything she tired only pointed to one conclusion, that he was perfectly fine. Yet he wouldn't wake up. From what little she heard from the muggle world, it sounded as if he was in a coma. A couple of hours later, she reluctantly announced to Mrs. Granger that all they could do was wait.

Mr. Weasley turned out to have a little bit of poison running through his blood, which would have to run its course. When the Weasley clan arrived, she permitted them to take him home, only if they promised to make sure he stayed in bed for the next two days.

The next day, Mr. Potter's condition didn't change. She let a steady stream of visitors sit with him, but it did no good. More than once she suggested to Mrs. Granger that she needed some rest, but the girl absolutely refused. When Madam Pomfrey got to the point that she was insisting that the girl take a sleeping potion, Mrs. Granger would leave, to visit Mr. Weasley no doubt.

So when she woke up on the second day after receiving Mr. Potter, Madam Pomfrey fully expected another day of no change in his condition. She was a little startled to see the young Mrs. Weasley sitting next to his bed. But if the rumors going around at the end of last term, had been true, then she couldn't blame the girl.

"Morning Mrs. Weasley," she said, stepping out of her office.

"Morning Madam Pomfrey," Ginny replied sadly. She was rubbing one of Mr. Potter's hand in between hers. "Do you think he'll wake up soon?"

Even though she didn't truly believe so, Madam Pomfrey couldn't break the girls spirit so she said, "I think there's a good chance he might."

"Oh," Ginny said simply.

Deciding she needed something to get her mind of it, Madame Pomfrey stepped up next to her. "Would you mind helping me perform the scans on Mr. Potter? It'll go quicker if the two of us did it."

Ginny agreed to help and the two pulled out their wands. In a matter of minutes they were done, having found nothing different since his last scans. It only confirmed her original prognosis, that Mr. Potter would wake up when he got good and ready. Until then, they would just have to wait.

Her stomach catching her attention, she remembered she hadn't ate anything yet that morning. "I'm about to go get some breakfast. Care to join me Ginerva? Or if you don't want to leave Mr. Potter alone, we could have something brought over?"

Ginny nodded with a small smile. "Actually, I am a little hungry."

So the two had a house elf, whom was more than happy to do something, bring them a couple of trays to the hospital wing. Through the meal, Madam Pomfrey once again approached the subject of Mrs. Weasley becoming a Healer. She really did think the girl would make a superb healer if only she could see it herself.

"I don't know," Ginny said pushing a piece of toast around on her plate. "What if I were to mess up something and someone died?"

"Well, let me tell you something. After two years of training and then even more studying, the knowledge pretty much becomes ingrained in you. I won't lie, there are mistakes made every now and then but think of how many people you help in between."

They sat in silence for awhile, Ginny thinking while Madam Pomfrey patiently let her. If she was to convince the girl to go into the medical profession, she couldn't be too forceful. Finishing her breakfast, Madame Pomfrey threw her napkin on her plate. She picked up her glass of juice, and promptly dropped it a second later, as a raspy voice startled her.

"You'll make a great healer Ginny," Harry said.

Ginny screamed, then flew across the bed and into his arms. Madam Pomfrey watched them, smiling. Her tests could wait just one more minute. After all it wasn't like he was going anywhere. He was―

But then Mr. Potter started screaming, pushing Ginny off the bed as he curled into a ball, clutching his scar.


	11. The Calm Before

**Chapter 11 – The Calm Before**

It felt as if a blunt piece of metal was slowly being pushed into his skull. As he lay there panting from pain, a high thin laughter floated through his mind. The calls from Ginny and Madam Pomfrey were getting farther away as the crazy laughter grew louder. Finally the pain dulled and he was sitting in a chair, his long, thin fingers clutching the armrests.

"Well if isn't Mr. Potter," a deep voice came out of his mouth. It was disturbing having another person's voice coming from his throat, but then again it wasn't exactly normal for his mind to travel into another's body. "I've been waiting for you for quite some time now."

"Really? Well I'm sorry to disappoint you," said Harry sarcastically. He tried to gaze around the room he was in but he couldn't move his head. He might be in Voldemort's body, but he wasn't in control. From the little bit he could see, there was no way he could tell where they were.

"It's no use Potter," Voldemort said sneering. "Do you really think I would have invited you here and let you see my whereabouts?"

"What's the matter Tom? Afraid?"

Voldemort growled, his hands balling into fists. "Do not call me that name. I left behind my filthy muggle father's name a long time ago."

"Oh, that's right. Wouldn't want our little band of idiots to know you're nothing better than a half blood, would we? I'll try not to let the secret slip, Tom," Harry said, starting to enjoy himself. Now he could see why Dumbledore enjoyed toying with Voldemort. It was way too easy.

"You insolent brat. When I killed your parents, you were already spoiled. It's a good thing I killed them when I did. What's the matter Potter?" Voldemort asked, smirking. "You should know by now Potter, that people who resist me don't live very long."

Harry wanted to start cursing the vile man he currently resided in, but he knew that was exactly what Voldemort wanted. So he quickly sought about something to say, before he found the perfect thing. "What about Dumbledore? He resisted you all your life Tom. It was standard knowledge at Hogwarts that you feared him."

"I fear no one!" Voldemort shouted banging his fists on his chair. "Dumbledore is dead. It proves my point."

"What's that?" Harry asked. "That you were too weak to do it yourself? That you were so afraid you had to have one of you followers do it for you? That only proves one thing to me, Tom. That you're nothing more than a coward."

Voldemort leapt to his feet. "STOP CALLING ME THAT!"

"Fine. But know this Riddle," Harry said, enjoying the fury he felt pulsing through Voldemort's body. "I'm not going to sit back and wait for you to attack. I'm looking and when I find you, I'm coming. I'm coming to kill you Tom."

Then Harry tried to severe the bond holding him there. To his surprise, he felt the link weakening. As he was pulled away, back to his own body, Harry heard Voldemort screaming. The next thing he heard was Ginny and Madam Pomfrey calling his name.

When he opened his eyes, both stood over him, looking anxious. Ginny was holding a cold, wet rag against his scar. He reached up and gently moved her hand away. "I don't think I'll need that anytime soon," Harry said, realizing that his scar merely prickled now. Apparently, he held the control over their link when Voldemort lost his patience.

"Harry!" Ginny threw herself on him, hugging tightly enough to strangle a hippogriff. He wrapped his arms around her. Squeezing softly he assured her that he was fine.

"I'll be the judge of that Mr. Potter," Madam Pomfrey said sternly, although he could see her smiling. Ginny pulled away, and to his surprise, she and the nurse both ran their wands over him. Grinning, Harry looked at her with an eyebrow raised.

She flushed sightly. "I think I'm going to do it. I want to be a healer."

Harry couldn't tell who was more excited, him or Madame Pomfrey. They both smiled and told Ginny that she would have an excellent career in the medical profession.

"Now that you know what you want to do," Madam Pomfrey said, still smiling widely. She looked excited at the prospect of having an apprentice. "You can focus on certain areas during your last two years of school."

"Is Hogwarts reopening then?" Harry asked surprised. The last time he had talked with the Headmistress, she hadn't heard word herself. "I thought the governors couldn't decide."

Madam Pomfrey waved her hand, shaking her head. "Oh posh. The governors know that they have no choice. If the Ministry wants to show that they have control of the situation, they can't let Hogwarts be shut down can they?"

Harry grinned. "No, I guess not. Sounds like a good thing came from the Minister after all."

After Madam Pomfrey sent for another tray of breakfast to be sent over, which Harry ate realizing he was starving at the first smell of eggs, the three sat for awhile talking. The Hogwarts nurse who chatted about the current research on potions designed to cure Lycanthropy, was a far cry from the woman he knew when he visited the infirmary during his first six years. The temper was still there, but she seemed far more relaxed.

Harry was just about to get out of the bed and get dressed when the doors flew open. In a strange case of deja vu, only this time at Hogwarts instead of St. Mungo's, all he saw was a blur of brown hair before a sobbing Hermione hit him. She hugged him tightly for a few seconds then pulled back.

"Harry, don't you ever do that again!" she scolded her eyes still wet. Then she looked over him carefully. "Are you alright? You're not hurt are you? I couldn't stand not knowing what that weird light might have done to you."

"I'm fine Hermione," Harry said laughing. Then he sobered up, looking at her seriously. "What about Ron? Is he alright?"

"If you call eating a pound of eggs, a pound of bacon, and ten slices of toast...then yes, I guess he's alright," Hermione said. She sat on the end of the bed. "I swear, he eats more than one of the Hogwarts Houses combined."

"Try living with six of him. You're lucky if you can grab a piece of chicken without getting your hand gnawed off," said Ginny, crawling into the bed and leaning against Harry. She pulled away, her nose wrinkled. "No offense Harry, but you need a shower. Badly."

Shoving her playfully, Harry looked around. "I don't have any clothes with me. What happened to the ones I was wearing?"

"Oh those. I had the house-elves take them to wash," Madam Pomfrey said. She flicked her wand at the small cupboard at the end of Harry's bed. A small bag rose out of it and landed next to him. "Mrs. Granger was kind enough to bring these for you."

"Thanks Hermione," Harry said getting out of bed. Taking the clothes with him, he went to the nearest bathroom, well the nearest prefect bathroom anyway. It was one of the things he loved about being Quidditch captain last year, the use of the prefect bathrooms.

It was decided that the three would go back to the Burrow. Since Ron wasn't allowed out of bed for another day, which according to Hermione he was already complaining about very heavily, and that the wedding was only a few days away, Harry figured he might as well stay with the Weasleys. That is if they had room. Ginny tried to assure him that they did.

"Of course you would probably have to stay in Ron's room. Fred and George decided to move back in during the wedding," Ginny said as they walked across the grounds to the front gate. She pulled a way too innocent look, although Harry could very well see the mischievous glint in her eyes, and looked over at him. "Too bad Hermione and I are bunking together, otherwise you could stay with me."

"Ginny!" Hermione cried scandalously. Then to Harry's utter astonishment, she grinned back. "Of course, that would mean I'd stay with Ron, so it might not be all that bad."

Harry was so busy staring at her in shock, that he wasn't watching were he was going and stumbled over a patch of rocks. Laughing Hermione and Ginny kept going. Harry got up studying the back of one of his best friends. Had his Hermione, the same Hermione who would blush at the mention of liking Ron, just make a joke about sleeping with him?

"Are you coming Harry? Or am I going to have to take Ginny with me?" Hermione called from the other side of the gate. She was smiling way too much for his liking. "You know, being as clumsy as you are lately, it might be a good idea if I _did_ take her."

So as the two disappeared, Harry grudgingly walked to the gate. There was only one thing to do, which was pay Hermione back. Of course, that meant he would have to pull Ginny in on it to help him. After all, she shared the same lineage as the infamous Weasley twins, and when she wanted to, Ginny could out do them any day of the week.

Harry was getting ready to Disapparate, when he realized something was missing. "Argos?" he called, wondering if the Phoenix would hear him. But he didn't have to worry, for as soon as the name was out of his mouth, the bird appeared in a flash of fire.

"Hey Argos," Harry said smiling. When the bird landed on his shoulder, he reached up and stroked his feathers. "Where were you?"

_It is almost time human._

"For what?" Harry asked. Since no one was around, he went ahead and asked his questions out loud. It was easier and he wasn't used to having a conversation completely mentally yet.

_The time when we must bond. I stayed by your side until this morning. Your mate was looking after you._

"Oh, okay," Harry muttered, blushing at the mention of Ginny as his mate. To cover his embarrassment, Harry asked, "What exactly do we have to do to bond? How long does it take?"

_I can not explain the ritual until we are ready. It does not take long. _

"I'm going to the Burrow to stay for awhile. Are you going with me? Or is there still something you have to do?"

_If it is alright, I am needed elsewhere. I will join you in a few days but I will appear if you need me._

"Okay. Bye then," Harry said. He watched Argos jump off his shoulder and fly a few circles above him, before disappearing with a flash. A small part of him was disappointed. It had only been a day, but he he had been getting used to having Argos around.

Instead of appearing near the garden, Harry Apparated a little ways up the twisting dirt road that led to the Burrow. He wanted a few minutes alone, and wasn't quite ready to face the large crowd, no doubt currently at the Burrow for the wedding. Besides the warm sun felt great, and the smell of the flowers reminded him of Ginny. If he could, he would have gone and got Ginny and brought her out her to spend some time alone with her. But then he would probably be caught up with greetings from the Weasley family.

Pausing at the pond, Harry watched the frogs jump around. His thoughts drifted to what he had seen after stepping into that room in the Chamber of Secrets. The cabin had his name on the door, but did it really mean that Salazar Slytherin lived there? The statue had said something about receiving the key to his knowledge, and then he had been shown the cabin, so it must be related.

If it was, things were starting to make a little sense. Dumbledore had shown him Voldemort's history, up to the point Riddle disappeared from Borgin and Burkes. It only seemed rational to think that since Riddle found the Chamber he also found the same room, and that cabin was where he had went after stealing the locket. In Dumbledore's memory, Riddle came back a changed man. What better place to immerse one's self in the dark arts than the home of Salazar Slytherin himself?

The only question he couldn't find an answer to was how Riddle found the place? Was there some instructions in one of the scrolls in that secret room? Harry never got around to reading them, which he planned to remedy after the wedding, but none of them looked like they would have a map on them. But there could have been a map on the wall if―

Harry's thoughts broke off, not from the snake that had just caught one of the frogs and was slowly devouring it, even though that was sickening enough, but from the fact that he just realized where he had heard about a map before. It had been something Dumbledore jotted to himself on one of the scraps of parchment McGonagall had given him. He couldn't remember the exact wording but it had been something about Slytherin's locket and Marvolo Gaunt's ring being joined together and showing a map.

Is that how Riddle found the cabin? Of course...he left right after he received the locket and he had already stolen the ring off his uncle. He must have used them to disappear to the cabin. Who knows what Slytherin left? Journals full of dark spells alone would have seemed a treasure trove to Riddle.

Immensely excited, Harry started walking to the Burrow. He couldn't help but fell proud of himself that he had figured out another chunk of Voldemort's history on his own. Well, Dumbledore had helped a little with the note to himself, but it still was mostly his own deductions. It felt as if he was finally making progress in his quest to destroy Voldemort and his horcruxes. He couldn't wait to find Ron and Hermione and fill them in.

But that proved harder than he would ever have thought. As soon as he walked into the garden, Harry was surrounded by people. In a brief bit of confusion, it took him a few seconds to realize that Mrs. Weasley wanted him to help Ginny de-gnome the garden. When he walked around to the back, he found her bending over, struggling with a particular hefty garden gnome.

"Ow," she hissed. She had finally gotten it free, but it bit her on the finger. Scowling she swung her arm around a few times and then let the gnome fly over the hedge. It flew a pretty good distance, almost the same length Harry himself could throw them.

He whistled, startling her. "I don't think that one will be back for awhile."

Ginny smiled, wiping her arm across her forehead. She squinted at him, the sun shining in her face. "What took you so long to get here? Am I going to have a new tattoo to admire?"

Harry laughed. "Well I thought about it but decided not to. I mean, what's the point? I could never compete with Ron's pygmy puff."

She giggled. "Ah well, I like your Horntail better anyway."

A minute later, Harry looked up. "Did you get into trouble for leaving last night?"

"Not really. Mum gave me a lecture about understanding how I felt, but next time to let one of them to take me, instead of riding on a broom all the way. This is pretty much my punishment," Ginny said pulling another gnome up and tossing it with apparent ease. "Actually now that I think about it, I got off easy. Mum and dad are too busy with the wedding that they weren't as strict as usual."

Harry nodded. "Good. I mean, not that they're not paying attention, but that you didn't get into trouble."

It took Harry and Ginny a lot longer to de-gnome the garden than it normally would. When they weren't joking around, they were sneaking quick snogging sessions. When they walked back around the house, holding hands, Mrs. Weasley hardly noticed them, so Harry decided to go see Ron.

Ginny led the way, telling him an amusing tale about the twins pulling a prank on Fleur. Apparently they had charmed Fleur's mirror. Every time the young Veela would look into it, her hair was messy. It took a while but she eventually found out what was going on and immediately set out for revenge.

"You should have seen it," Ginny said snickering. "Fred and George spent two whole days hairless. Completely hairless."

"I bet they don't bother with Fleur anymore."

"They even go out of their way to see if she's alright," Ginny said smiling. She opened Ron's door, suddenly freezing. Harry ran into her, the both of them stumbling into the room.

Ron and Hermione had been kissing. It took a few seconds for this to sink in. They both jumped apart, blushing. Ginny, meanwhile, was just standing there her mouth open. Thinking of something fast, so his friends wouldn't be too embarrassed, Harry grabbed Ginny's arm.

"Come on Gin," he said shaking his head. "I guess we'll have to find another spot to snog, looks like this one's taken."

To her credit, Ginny caught on quick. She sighed dramatically. "Oh well. The broom shed then?"

"Sounds lovely," Harry said bowing and offering his arm to her. "If I may m'lady?"

"You may," Ginny said, fluttering her eyelashes. She took his arm. "Will you protect me from mine enemies, good sir?"

"Quite. Thy shall not worry of the red haired dragons, for I will calm them," Harry said, pulling her towards the door. They were about to shut it behind them, when Harry couldn't resist anymore. "Uh, have fun guys."

As soon as the door was shut, Ginny and Harry both burst out laughing. Mrs. Weasley was in the kitchen when they came down the stairs. She asked them what was so funny, so Ginny quickly told her that she had been telling Harry about Fred and George. Mrs. Weasley just mumbled something about those boys and shook her head.

Ginny and Harry did end up spending that afternoon alone. They relaxed by the pond, Harry content with simply holding her. He had missed her so much, that he never realized until just then. Only when they heard Mrs. Weasley shouting that it was time for supper did they go in.

The next two days were spent pretty much the same, with the exception of Ron. At first he had been glad to get out of bed, but when he realized how much work needed to be done, he would grumble about still being weak. No one bought it but Hermione, who always took this time to baby him.

None of them mentioned what Harry and Ginny had walked in on. Ron and Hermione didn't seem to want anyone else to know about their relationship. If that' what it was, that is. It had only been one kiss after all. But by the way the two of them looked at each other, Harry could tell it was much more. His two friends had finally admitted their feelings for each other.

They spent the mornings doing the chores Mrs. Weasley assigned them, and the afternoons lazing about. The second afternoon a game of pick-up Quidditch had been organized. Harry had to Apparate home to get his broom, but it didn't take long. By the time he got back, Ron had already organized the teams. And to his surprise, Tonks and Lupin were there.

Lupin and Hermione had an argument about who would play. Neither wanted to, but Lupin finally won, pointing out that he was older and therefore reserved the right to sit and watch. The teams were only five people a piece. Two chasers, one beater, the keeper, and the seeker.

"Okay let's see. Fred and George need to be split up obviously, so one on each team. I'll be keeper for the red team, and Bill for the blue," Ron mumbled. He took a few seconds thinking then finally turned to everyone. "Okay for the red team; Fred, Charlie, Tonks, Ginny, and me. The blue is George, Harry, Hermione, Fleur, and Bill. It should be about even that way."

As the others sped off into the air, Harry glided over to Charlie. The second eldest Weasley child was riding a broom that looked pretty new, but Harry just figured it was polished up pretty well. "Do you want me to trade my broom for one of the ones in the shed? I want to be fair."

Charlie merely grinned, removing his hand from the handle. Written in flowing script was the same name on Harry's broom; Firebolt. "One of my buddies in Romania likes to keep up on the latest broom models. Since he had to stay and work, he let me borrow it for a couple of weeks."

"That's great," Harry said smiling, looking forward to playing against someone who, from what he had heard, was a good seeker.

"So since it's going to be a fair game, no hard feelings when I wipe the floor with you, eh?" Charlie joked.

The two seekers joined the rest of the players and soon the game was underway. As he floated over the rest looking for the Snitch, while keeping an eye on Charlie, Harry learned a few things. Tonks may be clumsy on the ground, but on a broom she was fantastic. Her and Fleur both proved to be okay chasers. Bill, although not great, was a decent keeper. But what surprised him the most was that after a few minutes of slow wandering, Hermione really got into the game. It was the first time Harry had ever seen her smile while flying.

Lupin, decided to be a commemorator for the match, surprising Harry. When the game began, the old DADA Professor was far from the soft spoken teacher. "The Quaffle is knocked out of Weasley's hands by a well placed Bludger from Weasley. No that's to confusing, best stick with first names. Hermione dives for the Quaffle, catches it and races for the red team's keeper. Tonks comes out of nowhere blocking Hermione, but it's too late. With a neat pass to Fleur, the blue team is still in possession. What's this? The red team's keeper seems to have fallen into a trance. He better wake up for here comes―SCORE by Fleur. Ten to zero, Red."

Harry had turned around just in time to see a dazed Ron making a feeble attempt at saving but the Quaffle flew by his outstretched fingers by a good foot. He heard Ginny shout something about it not being fair that their keeper can't keep from goggling the chasers. Harry found this extremely funny and started laughing. But a second later it died in his throat as Charlie dived a little ways from him.

Harry flattened against his broom and raced to join the other seeker. He still hadn't seen the Snitch but that didn't mean Charlie had. Only when they were a few feet from the ground did Harry realize what was going on. He quickly pulled away, the same time as Charlie, both scraping the grass with their toes.

"Doesn't hurt to try does it?" Charlie asked chuckling.

As Harry flew away, nothing hurt but his pride as he realized just how close he had come to falling for the Wronski Feint. He had wondered how he had caught up to Charlie, when they were both flying the same speed brooms. It did make one thing clear to him, that he wouldn't underestimate his opposition anymore. The rumors had been right. Charlie Weasley was a good Seeker.

"Ginny in possession. Wow. With a brilliant Sloth Grip Roll she dodges the Bludger George sends her way. Looks like that girl learns fast. Approaching the goal posts Ginny dives to the left...what's this? She fakes and passes the Quaffle to Tonks who shoots for the top goal. And its a close save by Bill as he lunges for it and manages to block with his finger tips."

The game went on for well over an hour. For a Snitch that wasn't as fast as the ones used at Hogwarts, the little gold ball certainly was hard to find. At first the game seemed one-sided as Harry's team, blue, racked up forty points before red team could even score. But then Ron seemed to find his confidence, as well as the ability to resist Fleur's charms, and began making his trademark spectacular saves. Before long the game was getting interesting, with a close score of sixty to seventy, blue team ahead.

Then Harry saw it. Fluttering, across the pitch underneath Ron's feet, the Snitch twinkled innocently. There was a problem though. Charlie was halfway between him and the golden ball. If Harry was to suddenly make a run for it, Charlie wouldn't take long to figure out what was happening and would be able to get there first. Praying his opponent wouldn't catch sight of the gold sparkle, Harry quickly thought of a way to get closer without tipping Charlie off.

Ginny had jut taken a shot at scoring, but Ron saved it, and was flying back towards him. Trying not to look too excited, Harry flew over to her. Charlie did glance at him, but seeing him talking to Ginny he turned back around scanning the pitch, which was exactly what Harry had been waiting for.

He shot towards the Snitch.

Ron looked on with wide eyes, thinking Harry was going to run into him, until he realized what was happening. "Charlie! It's the snitch. He's going after it!"

A brief blur at the edge of his vision confirmed that Charlie was racing after him. Making himself as small as possible against the broom, Harry reached an arm out to grab the Snitch. But just before his fingers could close on it, it veered off. To Harry's horror, right in the direction of Charlie.

Wheeling around Harry chased it. He vaguely heard Lupin saying something about them and registered that the game had stopped. Everyone was watching him and Charlie, who were flying directly towards each other, the Snitch hovering between them. Determined not to lose, Harry didn't blink as they shot closer to crashing. Charlie must have been thinking along the same lines, for he didn't veer either.

Time seemed to slow as Harry realized that they were going to crash. A few moments before the collision would have happened, an idea hit him. As Charlie tried to pull away at the last second, all thoughts of the Snitch from his mind apparently, Harry performed the same maneuver Ginny had earlier. But instead of rolling completely around, Harry stayed upside down. The two seeker's brooms passed within inches of each other, the only difference being that Charlie was now heading the wrong way.

Getting dizzier by the moment, Harry reached out and closed his fingers of the struggling Snitch. No sooner had he turned around, right side up, that a group of fliers descended upon him.

"Harry, you were great!" Ginny cried nearly jumping off her broom in her effort to hug him.

"Brilliant!" Fred and Georg both shouted.

"Bloody Hell Harry. That was amazing," Ron called.

"Wow. I guess we know who's the better seeker now," Charlie said, and even though he had lost, he was smiling.

"'Arry, zat wuz very good," Fleur added when Bill said. "Pretty good."

But it was Hermione's reaction that was most memorable. "Harry James Potter! Do you realize how dangerous that was? What if you lost your grip or something?"

Tonks appeared, wrinkling her nose. "Relax Hermione. If it's one thing I know about Harry, it's that he's at home on the broom. By the way kiddo, very nice catch."

"Thanks," Harry replied, his face and neck burning. By the time everyone decided to land and head in for supper, he knew his face was brighter than the shirt Tonks had on, which pretty bad itself.

However, a minute later, when Ginny wrapped an arm around his waist and leaned her head against his shoulder as they walked towards the house, he couldn't even remember ever feeling bad in his entire life. Smelling the flowery aroma of her hair, Harry didn't miss the looks he received from Charlie and Bill. He knew the big brother chat was coming up sometime soon, the only question was when.

The answer came to him after lunch the next day. Fleur wanted to have a night wedding underneath the stars, so they all ate lunch. Afterwards, Mrs. Weasley told him to go rest a minute, as he looked a might sickly. Harry agreed, not wanting to tell them about the twisted nightmare Voldemort had sent him last night. Today was Bill's and Fleur's wedding and he wasn't going to let Voldemort ruin it by dwelling on the dream.

Leaning against the tree his stomach about to burst thanks to a certain red haired woman who insisted he have thirds of everything, Harry watched the people who all but legally made him part of their family. The twins and Ron levitated tables out unto the grass, pausing every now and then to have a quick aerial fight. Ron was losing badly until Ginny joined him. In no time at all they reduced Fred and George's table into splinters no bigger than a quill.

Never in his life had Harry so badly wanted to do the easy thing. He wanted to get up and walk away, leaving Ron behind with his family along with Hermione. If his best friends joined him Harry knew there was a slim chance either one of them would come back alive. He hated to think such dark things about them but he knew he couldn't deny the truth. But another truth he couldn't deny, he realized, was that he needed Ron and Hermione with him.

If he was to have any chance of finding the rest of the horcruxes and destroying them, then he couldn't go at it alone. Already they had been invaluable and they hadn't even left the Dursleys yet. No, Ron and Hermione would definitely be with him to the end. He only hoped that they would be there afterwards too.

"So Potter, I heard from Ron that you and Ginny are dating."

Harry jumped, not noticing anyone coming up behind him. If Mad Eye Moody had been there he would be screaming about constant vigilance. Charlie was standing behind him his arms folded across his chest wearing a serious expression.

Harry groaned inwardly. He knew this was coming so he might as well get it over with. "Uh, yeah, we are. Although sometimes I wish we had never started in the first place," Harry said, realizing that it came out completely wrong.

Charlie's eyes narrowed and he looked like he was trying very hard to keep himself from throwing a punch. "My sister not good enough for the chosen one then?" he asked with venom in his voice.

"Merlin no!" Harry cried trying to stop his gaze from searching for Ginny but failing. "If anything she's too good for me." He looked up and was relieved to see Charlie's face soften. Not much but a little. "It's just that...I know how much danger she's in because of me. Whom else would Voldemort want but the girl I love?"

Charlie's eyes widened at that last statement, but Harry didn't notice.

"It hurts to think that I'm putting her in that kind of danger. Yet, at the same time, a selfish part of me would never give up what we have, even if it meant her being safe. But I love her so much that I sometimes think that if we had never started dating, maybe she wouldn't be such a high target," Harry finished, his voice wavering. Why now? Why, of all places, was he close to crying in front of Ginny's older brother.

"Harry, I'll be the first one to admit I don't know much about you. Other than what Ron and the rest of the Weasleys tell me, I've never had much of the _chance _to get to know you. But from what I've heard and from what I've seen these past few days you don't seem like a complete idiot. So why are you all of a sudden acting like one?"

"What?" Harry managed to ask. Of all the things he expected from one of Ginny's older brothers this wasn't one of them.

"Harry," Charlie paused glancing at the twins as they started another fight with a freshly repaired table. "I've never seen Ginny so happy as she has been these last few days. If you can make her feel that way, then it doesn't matter what else happens. As long as Ginny loves you, you shouldn't question it. Just give in for once and learn to enjoy it. You know, it's going to break her heart when you leave."

Harry kicked the ground with the heel of his shoe. Why didn't Charlie just leave him alone? It was hard enough saying goodbye to Ginny without everyone else pointing out how much she was hurting. He had expected Charlie to yell or maybe storm off but when the dragon herder laid a hand on his shoulder it surprised him.

"I know you have a ton of other things on your shoulders right now, Harry but you don't have to face them alone. If there's one thing I've learned, it's to never underestimate Ginny. According to dad, it's one of the reason Weasley women are so rare. Because one of them contain the emotions of a generations worth. Whether, you, me, mum and dad, or the rest of the family like it, Ginny's going to be there with you at the end. All I ask is that you take care of her."

"Always," Harry murmured which seemed to be good enough, for a second later he heard Charlie walking away. Watching the Weasley family...his family, playing another game of levitated fighting tables, Harry knew that if it ever came to it, Harry himself would jump in front of a killing curse for Ginny.

"Always," Harry whispered, then stood up. He joined in on the game, sneaking up from behind and clobbering everyone else's tables with his own. They kept playing around until Mrs. Weasley came out of the house, yelling at them to stop and get everything ready.

"There's going to be a wedding tonight, in case you lot didn't know," she scolded, wiping her hands on her aprons. "I want everything to be perfect."

Harry nodded, agreeing completely with her. But that didn't stop him from glancing around to see if any of the Aurors or DA members were there yet. The Weasleys, other than Ron, didn't know anything about the planned Death Eater attack, but Harry couldn't see any reason to tell them. Then everyone's nerves would be shot, each constantly looking around waiting for the first spell to fly.

He only hoped that the trap would work. That when the night was over, Voldemort was the one counting losses, not the other way around.


	12. The Storm

**Chapter 12 – The Storm**

The closer the wedding approached, the more chaotic the Burrow became. It started with the arrival of Fleur's relatives and friends. Little Gabrielle immediately sought out Harry and stuck to him. It didn't take him long to realize that Fleur hadn't been joking when she said her little sister talked about him constantly. It became so bad that he ended up hiding from her.

But however bad he had it, Ron had it worse. Fleur's family weren't the only people invited. Among her friends was one of the triwizard champions, Viktor Krum. Not knowing many people there but Hermione and Fleur, and since the latter was busy getting ready for the wedding, Viktor pretty much stuck close to Hermione which drove Ron crazy.

"What are you doing Harry?" Ginny asked innocently as Harry ducked behind the couch in the sitting room. He glared at her, but quickly ducked as Gabrielle came running into the room.

"Ginny! 'Ave you seen zere 'Arry is?" she asked hopefully.

From behind the couch, Harry could tell Ginny was having a hard time keeping from laughing. When she told Gabrielle that she had no idea, and the little girl left, Harry rose.

"I don't know if I'm going to make it until the wedding's over," he said grimacing. "And I thought Collin was bad. He was nothing compared to her."

"What's the matter? Can't big, powerful 'Arry handle a little girl?" Ginny asked wrapping her arms around him.

"Well as long as it's this girl, I can," said Harry, leaning down and kissing her. She moaned, leaning into him. It was in this position that Fleur walked in on them.

"Wat's this? I theenk it will be you and 'Arry's wedding next," she said smiling. She moved into the room, and kissed Harry on his cheeks. "I am so sorry 'Arry but I must borrow zee Ginny."

Nodding Harry watched as Ginny was dragged upstairs by Fleur. Hoping he wouldn't run into Gabrielle along the way, he went in search for Ron and Hermione. He found them sitting outside at one of the tables. Hermione and Krum were happily talking while Ron just sat beside them looking glum.

They sat there for awhile until Mrs. Weasley came out, rounding everyone up. She went over the plans for the wedding, explaining to those who were in it what they were supposed to do and where they would stand. She was just explaining it all again a second time, when she stopped, her face still and white.

"Percy?" She asked, then a smile broke out on her face. He was standing by the road. She ran to him, hugging him tightly. "I knew you would come. I just knew it. Can you believe your brother is getting married?"

But Harry wasn't focused on them. What caught his attention was the bulky form of Rufus Scrimgeour. In what seemed like a flashback to Christmas last year, he approached, this time not even bothering with the pretense of randomly picking Harry out of the group to give him a tour.

"Do you want us to go with you?" Hermione asked, looking mistrustfully at the Minister. "I don't really like him."

"Yeah mate. There's something not right about him," Ron said thoughtfully. "I can't believe I'm saying this but...maybe Loony Lovegood was right. Maybe he is a vampire."

But Harry stood up, telling them he would be alright. After all, it wasn't like it was the first time he had one of these little chats with the Minister. Once at Christmas, and then again after Dumbledore's funeral a few weeks ago.

Although, he insisted that he was fine, Harry was close to losing his fragile hold on his temper as he followed the Minister around the house to the front garden. What right did the man have to disrupt the wedding day? What made it even worse was that Scrimgeour had tried to get him to lean his direction for the past year.

"Well Mr. Potter. It seems―"

But Harry was too angry to wait. "What do you think you're doing here? Don't give me that line of rubbish about Percy wanting to see his family, because we both know he wouldn't be here unless you forced him to."

"I see that temper of yours hasn't lessened any." Scrimgeour limped over and stood in front of Harry's face, his eyes hard. "It shall be my great pleasure to knock it down a few notches."

Leaning forward himself, Harry glared at the Minister. "And I see you still like to ramble on without making a point. I don't know about you _Minister_, but I have better things to do with my time than talk to an idiot."

Harry would've turned away then and left, but the way the Minister's eyes flashed stopped him. The dangerous glint of corruption, from power and ambition. Two things that didn't mix well in a wizard. It was the same look that Lucius Malfoy, among others, had. Harry waited, for he knew something unpleasant was about to come out of the Minister's mouth.

"I am done playing with you Mr. Potter," Scrimgeour whispered. A dark grin crossed his face. "At the beginning of next week you will come to the Ministry. Then you―"

"I've already told you―"

"―then you will make a formal statement in front of a group of reporters that you whole heartedly support the Ministry and all of its actions that are being employed against Voldemort. Furthermore, you will tell me what you and that old fool Dumbledore were working on before he died."

Harry stood there speechless. Why in the world would he do even one of those things, much less all of them. When the absurdity of the situation finally passed, he couldn't help but laugh. "You're mental if you think that's going to happen. I suggest you leave, Rufus."

Shaking his head, Harry turned and started walking back towards the house. When Scrimgeour hissed and clamped his hand down on his shoulder, Harry spun around his wand in his hand. It conveniently ended up at the Minister's throat. Scrimgeour's face was red and furrowed in anger, but he let go anyway, even going as far as taking a few steps backward.

"You do not have a bloody damn choice Mr. Potter," he snarled. He raised one hand pointing at Harry's chest. "If I don't see you first thing next week, I'll see to it you rot the rest of your life in Azkaban. Even if you don't get a life sentence...who's to blame if some of the Death Eaters inside were to accidentally get put in the same cell as you?"

"For what reason? Refusing to tell the wizarding world what good, the sack of garbage Minister is doing?"

"Does the name Peter Pettigrew ring a bell to you?" Scrimgeour grinning, his expression a bit wild. "It is interesting to learn that he was caught at the house you live in, but what's even more intriguing is the fact that someone illegally gave him Veritaserum."

Even though his heart froze, Harry tried to look expressionless. He could only think of one thing to do and that was just deny the whole thing. "What does that have to do with me?"

"It's pretty obvious that you're the one who, by unlawful means, held a man captive while interrogating him."

Realization was dawning. There was only one way to do this. Thankful that he had Professor McGonagall perform a memory charm, Harry shrugged. "Well then, I guess if Mr. Pettigrew admits to me giving him Veritaserum and interrogating him, then what can I do?"

If possible, the Minister's face grew even redder, looking at him with absolute hatred. "He did not actually admit but―"

"What?" Harry asked innocently. "Well if he didn't admit to any wrongdoing on my part, then I guess the only news next week will be how the Minister accused the Chosen One of a terrible crime without any evidence whatsoever."

"Ha! So you admit to being the Chosen One?"

"Like you said last time...it doesn't matter. But for the purpose of debasing you in the news, well I'm not above letting it slip that I am," Harry said, trying not to smile. Now he understood why Dumbledore was always so calm. It only made angry people angrier, and angry people almost always make mistakes and stick their foot in their mouth.

What the Minister was going to say next was cut off as Percy flew out of the house, this time covered in a wider variety of foods. He stalked out of the yard and stood, waiting at the dirt road. Since members of the Weasley family were standing at the doorway looking out, Scrimgeour leaned close and whispered one last thing.

"This is not over Mr. Potter. Not even close." He put on a smile and turned waving at the Weasleys before limping off to join Percy. As soon as he was on the road, both him and his assistant disappeared.

The silence that fell was broken by Mrs. Weasley as she screamed, looking at Ron's watch. "We have to hurry, the wedding is only two hours away. Come on Fleur, dear, let's get you hair put up. Gabrielle, Ginny. You two might as come as well."

After that, guests started arriving. Nearly all of the Hogwarts staff were present, along with most of the Order, as they had received invitations before Moody took control. But what relieved Harry the most was the Aurors who silently slipped unto the premises, walking the perimeter. If any of the Weasleys noticed them, they didn't say anything.

Hermione walked up behind him, startling him. He was standing near the road watching the guests arrive, trying to see if he recognized any Death Eaters. So far he hadn't seen any, but there was the annoying fact that they could be using Polyjuice potion to slip in unnoticed. So when Hermione laid a hand on his shoulder, he jerked slightly.

"Relax Harry. When the attack comes, we'll be ready. I hate the thought of it ruining Bill's and Fleur's wedding. Do you think it could happen after the ceremony? It wouldn't be so bad then."

"I don't know," Harry said, him and Hermione both waving at Professor Flitwick as the small charms professor hurried up the path to the house. "Knowing Voldemort, he would want the attack to happen right in the middle of the vows...wait a minute. What's a wizard wedding like anyway?"

Hermione smiled. "From what I've read, it's pretty much like the muggle ceremony. The only difference is the Soul Binding Charm."

"How does that work?"

"The couple get a person important in their lives, someone who has helped shape them to what they both have become, to cast the charm. A white light encircles the two, the brighter the light and more colorful it is, the stronger the bond between the two. Most wizarding couples barely glow past the initial white. Very few get any farther," Hermione said matter of factly.

Harry was just about to ask her who the bonder would be for this wedding, when a short portly man arrived. Suddenly realizing he had never lived up to his promise, Harry was about to walk over and apologize, when Hermione grabbed his arm stopping him. She had followed his gaze.

"Don't worry about it Harry," she said reassuringly. "I already gave it to him."

Professor Slughorn was walking up the path. As soon as he saw them he broke into a wide smile. "Harry, my boy! I've got to tell you, that was the finest Basilisk venom I have ever worked with. Mind you I've only handled such a precious ingredient a few times in my life. I must admit, I was still astounded when Mrs. Granger appeared with an actual fang."

A momentarily wishful look passed the potions professor's face. When Harry asked him about this, Slughorn laughed jovially, shaking his head. "It's nothing my dear boy. I was merely dreaming. There's no possible way you could find such a thing. There's only been one bottle of it in existence...well no matter."

But Hermione was intrigued. "What are you talking about Professor?"

Instead of answering immediately, Slughorn walked over and sat down on an old tree stump at the side of the road. "I do believe you have heard of the five Eternus ingredients Mrs. Granger?"

Apparently Hermione had, for she gasped her eyes flying open. "I've read of them, but the directions of making the potion has been lost. No one even knows the five ingredients, do they?"

Slughorn rubbed his hands together looking pleased. "You are correct my dear. But it so happens I've learned of one of the ingredients. Don't ask me how, but I know what it is. The only problem is getting it. Like I said earlier, there's only been one bottle in recorded history, and it was used. Can you imagine what the value of it would be?"

Harry had no idea what the two were talking about, but he had to admit that this mysterious ingredient intrigued him. "So what is it? What's so hard to find?"

"Basilisk blood, my boy," Slughorn said, looking at him seriously. "It has all the properties of Dragon's blood and more. As there's only been one bottle, no one has yet found out what potential it may contain. That, of course, is why it's one of the five Eternus ingredients."

"But surely there's been plenty of Basilisks in history," Harry said perplexed. According to the page Hermione had, there would have been more than the one he killed in the Chamber. "I remember reading somewhere about the hunting of Basilisks. Why not take some blood, or for that matter venom, before they get rid of the body?"

"The only way wizards have found that can kill a Basilisk is a spell that takes at least a dozen wizards and witches to perform. If the spell works, all that's left of the Basilisk is a burnt spot on the ground," Slughorn said sadly as if, like Hagrid, the thought of killing such a creature was wrong. Of course, Harry knew it wasn't the life of the monster Slughorn mourned, but rather the rare ingredients it contained.

As soon as Slughorn left, Hermione turned to Harry, excited. "If the Professor's right Harry, we could get one of the Eternus ingredients...Harry! Do you think that room could have something written about the other ingredients?"

He didn't have to ask her what room she was talking about, for he was thinking the same thing. "Maybe. That reminds me. I have something I need to tell you and Ron later."

A few more witches and wizards trickled in, each one passing his scrutiny. Finally when the arrivals stopped, and Ron and the twins began leading all of the guests to their seats in the back garden, Harry followed along taking his own seat next to Hermione. It wasn't long before a slow melody began drifting across the lawn and the wedding started.

The one thing Harry knew he would always remember was the sight of Ginny. As she walked down the aisle between the two clusters of seats, she seemed to glow with beauty. Although she was walking next to a part Veela, it was Ginny who caught his gaze and put him in a trance. It wasn't until Hermione poked him in his side, did he tear his eyes away.

"Here she comes Harry," Hermione quietly hissed, but she wore that look Harry hated. A cross between amusement and understanding. "It's considered rude manners to watch the bridesmaid instead of the bride."

Fleur smiled as she was led down the aisle on her father's arm. Nearly all of the men followed her with their eyes, wearing stupid grins. Harry had the uncomfortable feeling that he had the exact same look on his face when Ginny had walked by. On the other side of Hermione, Ron even seemed a might distracted, although it was nowhere near as bad as the rest. It could have been from the fact that he was building a resistance to Fleur's Veela charms, or from the glare Hermione was shooting his direction. Either way, Ron stared at the Ministry official performing the ceremony instead of the bride-to-be.

Throughout the vows, Harry kept fighting the urge to glance at Ginny. For some reason he couldn't get the sight of her in that pale pink dress out of his mind. But he didn't last long. The next thing he knew, he was admiring the way the cloth hugged her slim frame. He blocked out the words coming from the happy couple and the Ministry official. He didn't know how much time passed, when he caught something that drug his attention back to the small, elderly wizard conducting the ceremony.

"And have the two of you decided on your Bondee?"

Bill and Fleur smiled at each other and nodded. It was Bill who spoke. "Very few people have been in both of our lives but we have decided on one person. In fact, if it wasn't for him, we would never have met. I Bill Weasley―"

"And I, Fleur Weasley, née Delacour―"

"Call upon one Harry James Potter to be our Bondee," Bill finished. The new couple turned and locked eyes with Harry. "Will you do us this honor?"

Harry was floored. He didn't know what to do and if Hermione hadn't pushed him to his feet, he would probably have sat there for another hour gaping. His face burning, Harry walked down the middle of the aisle. What were they thinking? He had never seen a wizard's wedding, much less the Soul Binding being performed. His stomach turning at the thought, of attempting the charm and nothing happening, Harry stopped in front of Bill and Fleur.

"Are you sure about this?" he whispered, hoping that they would change their minds. "I mean, wouldn't you whether have Professor McGonagall, or someone else do it?"

Smiling, Fleur laid a hand on his shoulder. "You 'ave been 'ere for us 'Arry. It is you zat we want."

"Relax Harry," Bill said, grinning himself. "All you have to do is tap your wand on our hands and say _Phasmatis Obfirmo_. But like Fleur said...you've done so much for my family that I couldn't think of anyone better to perform our bonding."

Harry reluctantly nodded and pulled his wand out of his pocket. If they really wanted him to do the spell, then he would. Praying he wouldn't screw the spell up do something horrible, like catching Fleur's dress on fire, he waited for the Ministry official to quit telling how the bond between the two would be bound with the wand of a close friend. When the official finally gestured to him, Harry nervously cleared his throat and stepped forward.

"_P-Phasmatis Obfirmo_!" he muttered. For a second he nervously waited, thinking he had gotten the spell wrong after all, but then Bill and Fleur's linked hands began to softly glow. Two colors swirled together. A light blue glow traveled down Bill's arm while a misty sliver light came from Fleur. As the two met, they entwined. The ball of light grew until both Bill and Fleur were radiating the silvery blue light. As it flared for a few moments then died down, applause erupted from the guests.

From there, the wedding flew by. After thanking everyone for coming Bill and Fleur walked back down the aisle to the pedestal stationed beside the back door to the Burrow. A small crystal sculpture, a pair of phoenixes with their wings around each other and nuzzling their beaks, stood upon it. This was the portkey which would transport the new couple to the first stop on their honeymoon.

According to Hermione, it was a positively romantic spot in France, but Harry didn't really care as he was still waiting for the sudden screaming which meant that Death Eaters were attacking. But as Bill and Fleur stopped beside the portkey, Harry realized that it wasn't going to come. Maybe Voldemort had decided not to act on Wormtail's information. Relieved he, along with the rest of the Weasleys and Hermione, shouted farewell to the happy couple.

Bill and Fleur waved to everyone, then disappeared in a flash of light as they grabbed the portkey. Charlie meanwhile, along with a little help from Fred and George, had a party organized. It involved a lot of drinking among the older men. Ron finally got to try some firewhiskey, but after choking and sputtering, he quickly decided to stick to butterbeers like Harry, Ginny, and Hermione.

"Whaz tha madder Harry?" Fred said coming up and sitting down next to him at the table. Before Harry even had time to answer, Fred's head fell forward, hitting the table with a muffled clump. Hermione gasped, looking worried until Fred gave a loud snore.

"Guess some blokes can't handle their firewhiskey," Ron said sniggering, as he poked his brother in the shoulder.

"And this coming from the person who couldn't even take a drink without drowning," Ginny said rolling her eyes. Ron fired back a remark and soon the two were arguing. Shaking his head Harry leaned over to Hermione.

"I guess you got your wish. I wonder why Voldemort didn't attack."

Hermione took a minute to think, rolling her bottle of butterbeer between her hands. Chewing a lip, she looked up. "Do you think he could've found out about all of the extra security? I mean, we don't exactly know who could have overheard one of the Aurors on duty tonight."

In the end, Harry pretty much had to agree with Hermione. By the time the party was over and everyone had left, including the Aurors and the DA members, not a single Death Eater had been heard from. It probably was as simple as someone still loyal to Voldemort, overhearing that extra Aurors were being assigned at the wedding. Getting into bed, listening to Ron's loud snores, Harry supposed that it was good Bill and Fleur's wedding hadn't been ruined after all.

But that wasn't the case when he finally fell asleep. In his dreams, he was walking through the back garden at the Burrow. Bodies littered the ground, blood soaking the grass. At the alter Voldemort was laughing loudly. To his horror Harry saw Ginny kneeling in front of him, tears falling from her face.

Upon seeing him, Voldemort's evil grin grew. He whispered a few words into Ginny's ear. She stood up, turned around and began walking towards Harry, her wand raised. Harry immediately realized what was going on as he saw that her eyes were blank, far from the loving gentle pools of almond that he loved. Just as she waved her wand at him and uttered the foulest of the unforgivable curses, Harry woke up.

He sat in bed shaking. At least he hadn't been screaming, for Ron was still snoring. Harry checked his watch. Even though it was only a little past three, he knew he wouldn't be able to go back to sleep. Crawling out of bed, and being careful not to make any noises, Harry softly walked to the door.

All the way downstairs, the image of Ginny using the killing curse replayed in his mind. What could he do in a situation like that? He knew he would never be able to bring himself to jinx or hex her. It was all the more reason for him to make sure Ginny wouldn't be in any more fights. All it would take is for Voldemort to Imperius her and then turn her against him.

"Harry?" a soft voice said from the living room. Lost in his thoughts he didn't realize that he wasn't alone anymore. Sitting on the end of the couch with her legs curled beneath her, Ginny looked just as surprised to see him as he was to see her. "What are you doing up? Couldn't sleep either huh?"

When Harry nodded and sat down next to her, Ginny lifted the sheet she had been wrapped in and spread it out over both of them. They sat that way for a few moments. Harry was content with just holder her in his arms. But then Ginny raised her head off his shoulder.

"Harry? Promise me something."

"Yeah?"

"Promise me that you won't leave me when the time comes for you to fight Voldemort," she said solemnly. When he started to speak she raised her hand, touching his lips. "Let me finish. I may not be there to help you fight _him_, but I'll be fighting. Just promise me that after everything is done and through, you won't leave me alone."

It took a second for Harry to realize what she was really asking. As much as his heart wanted him to make the promise and take the pain away from her beautiful eyes, he couldn't. "Ginny, you know I can't do―"

"Harry please! Just promise me that I don't have to lose you!" Ginny cried, softly hitting him on his shoulder. She tried to blink back the tears, but was failing miserable.

"Ginny," Harry said taking her hand and kissing it. He raised his gaze and stared into her wet eyes. "I may not be able to promise you that but I can promise that Voldemort won't walk away. Believe me, I don't want to die. The only thing I can say is that I'll try my best."

Although she accepted this in silence, Harry could tell she didn't like it. As he sat with her against him, feeling the gentle rising and falling of her chest he couldn't help but marvel how comfortable his relationship was with her. A couple of years back the short relationship, if one date and kiss could be called that, with Cho was spent with him constantly worrying that he would say or do the wrong thing. But with Ginny, he felt that no matter what he said, she would be there for him.

"Harry?" Ginny asked a little while later.

"Hmm?" Harry said. He had thought she had fallen asleep.

"Do you think―"

Three things happened that drowned out the rest of her sentence. The first was the terrible noise that blared through the windows. It sounded eerily like the sound the wards on the bedroom door at Grimmauld Place had produced when they broke. The next thing was that the house shook, causing the two of them to fall off of the couch and unto the floor. And the last thing, which far eclipsed the other two, was the intense pain that flooded his scar.

Struggling against the pain, Harry managed to cut the link off, reducing it to a light throb. But he could still feel Voldemort's anticipation. Slightly confused he glanced around, seeing Ginny struggling to free herself from the pile of cushions that had fallen on top of her. He crawled over and helped her then the two stood up and raced over to the window.

At the far edge of the front garden, robed figures fired spells against the invisible wards that had been put up. Harry knew they wouldn't last long, as Hermione had said that the wards were more of a warning system than to actually keep Death Eaters out. A bright red beam broke through and flew towards the house. A strong tremor shook the house as it hit somewhere upstairs.

"Should have known he wouldn't have called it off," Hermione said. She had appeared without him noticing. "It makes sense doesn't it? To attack in the middle of the night, when everyone is off their guard."

Pounding on the stairs behind them alerted the three that the Weasleys had arrived. As they all crowded around the window, staring helplessly as the Death Eaters tore down the wards, Harry caught Ginny's eyes. He saw confidence in them, and knew that if they were to make it out of the Burrow alive, he would have to act fast.

"Ron!" Harry called, startling the red head. "Get the cloak out of my trunk and bring my firebolt. While you're at it, grab your broom too. Hermione, will you go check and see if the floo is blocked? And maybe check to see if there's any other way out of here?"

As his two friends hurried off to do what he told them, Harry realized that the rest of the Weasleys were staring at him expectantly. He realized that, as leader of the DA, they were waiting for instructions. It was going to take a little getting used to that he was the one making the decisions now. Another spell broke through, the house shaking and creaking as it hit. Not much longer before the Death Eaters stormed the house.

"Ginny, do you think you can get to the broom shed and back in a minute or two?" Even thought her face was pale, she looked determined as she nodded. "Right then. I need you to bring all of the brooms."

Harry turned to Fred and George as Ginny ran out of the room. Although both looked a little worse for the wear from drinking so much, Harry could tell they were ready for the fight. "Do you guys still have some Wheezes left here? Grab anything that can help us distract them. But be back here in a few minutes."

"Mr. Weasley, can you send a patronus message pretty far? Or do you have to be close to the person receiving the message?"

"It will take longer the farther away the two people are but I can," Mr. Weasley said quickly.

"Great. Send a patronus to Kingsley and Professor McGonagall both, telling them we need help immediately." Mr. Weasley hurried off, so Harry turned to the matriarch of the family. "I'm going to need your help Mrs. Weasley along with Charlie's to distract the Death Eaters long enough for help to arrive. Are you two up to it?"

Both of them nodded. They pulled out their wands. Having no idea to what they were going to do, Harry walked out the back door. The only thing the three of them could do was fire as many spells at the Death Eaters as possible when the wards fall. The three walked through the garden, barely paying attention to the gnomes as they scrambled for their holes. Someway they had to―

Harry stopped as an idea hit him.

"Harry what are you―" Charlie started to say but Harry ignored him.

"_Accio Gnome!_" Harry shouted. A shrill shriek came from the ground, closely followed by a gnome that struggled to remain in it's burrow. But it was no use. Easily catching the creature, Harry stunned it then levitated it out to the wards. He hated doing this to the creatures but really had no choice. Once the gnome was in place hidden behind a bush so the Death Eaters couldn't see it, Harry used another spell that, ironically enough, he got the idea of from a Death Eater in disguise.

"_Engorgio!_"

The stunned gnome swelled until it was the size of Mr. Weasley's Ford Anglia. He expected for Mrs. Weasley to object to his plan, but when he turned around they were already summoning their own garden gnomes. Looking grim, they stunned them and did the same as Harry, hiding them.

When the Death Eaters broke through, they would revive the gnomes. Hopefully they would distract Voldemort's henchmen long enough for Harry, Mrs. Weasley, and Charlie to get a few spells off. Sure, the Death Eaters could cancel the enlargement spell but the gnomes could probably take a few of them out before that happened, making the odds a little better. Just from where he was standing, Harry could see fourteen of the robed figures attacking the wards.

A shape grew out of the darkness to his right and Harry was about to stun it, when he realized it was Ginny. Panting, she ran up to him and dumped an armful of brooms at his feet. A quick count confirmed that there were six brooms there, that combined with his and Ron's broom made eight. As long as one of them rode double that would be enough to make a hasty retreat if necessary.

"Thank you Ginny," Mrs. Weasley said. "Now get back to the house. It's too dangerous for you out here."

Ginny's face reddened, and Harry knew even if she was out of breath, she was about to yell at her mother so he never gave her a chance. "Actually Mrs. Weasley, she should stay and help."

"But what about―"

"We need all the help we can get." Harry put a hand on her shoulder, trying not to let the sight of her wet eyes change his mind. "I'm pretty sure the floo is blocked, so there wouldn't be a way out of the house. If we don't stop them out here, the Death Eaters would just go inside and kill her. At least with her helping us fight them, we have a better chance of making it out of this alive."

To his surprise, Mrs. Weasley nodded. To make it worse, he thought he saw a approving look cross Charlie's face. Just when the awkward silence that followed was getting unbearable, Ron and Hermione both came puffing up. Ron handed Harry the invisibility cloak and his firebolt and with a shake of her head, Hermione informed him that he had been right thinking that the floo had been blocked.

"I thought so," Harry said stuffing the cloak into his waistband. "There must be a Death Eater at the Ministry messing with the Floo access."

Mr. Weasley was next. He stopped, red faced. "It's done."

"Oy! Harry!" George shouted, or maybe it was Fred. It was hard to tell the two apart during the day, even more so in the dark. "I have some decoy detonators, Peruvian darkness powder, okay guess that's not much use, is it? Oh, and some bags of itching powder."

"And I have something we were working on," the other twin said holding a armful of small Snitch-sized metal balls. "Stunning Spheres. Supposed to be able to roll it under someone's desk and it stuns them but we ran into a little problem."

"What?" Hermione asked suspiciously, although Harry could see that she was curious.

"Just the little fact―"

"That the person who―"

"Is stunned, breaks out―"

"Into horribly painful―"

"Not to mention, hideous―"

"Blisters and warts."

By the time the twins were finished, both were grinning. It was infectious. Grinning himself Harry simply said, "Perfect."

He had them all gather around, then turned to Ron. "Okay mate, what's the plan?"

"W-What?" Ron stammered, eyes wide. "I can't think―"

Harry calmly shook his head, barely noticing the spells shooting over their heads that were growing in frequency. "Listen Ron. You can squash any one of us at chess which pretty much proves that you're a brilliant strategist. It's the same thing really, only instead of commanding little stone figures you're commanding us. Come on, we need you to do this."

Although Harry couldn't tell whether he talked some sense into Ron, or that it was Hermione slipping her hand into his looking at him confidently, Ron slowly nodded. "Okay then. I take it you were thinking about an aerial attack on brooms?"

And so in what seemed no time at all, Ron came up with a mainly defensive, yet strong attack plan, just like Harry knew he could. Fred and George were to attack from the air, using the bags of itching powder and Stunning Spheres, while Ginny, Mrs. Weasley, and Mr. Weasley would revive the stunned garden gnomes. The rest of them were to stay behind the rock barriers Hermione and Charlie were transfiguring the trees into, and shoot spells at the Death Eaters. Overall the main goal was to keep the Death Eaters at bay long enough for the Aurors and DA to arrive.

Fred and George were flying overhead, waiting. Harry turned to the rest of them. "Just remember that when the time comes―" But he never finished. With a loud, eerie wail the wards finally broke. After a screech of triumph, who could only be Bellatrix, the Death Eaters charged forward.

"Gnomes!" Ron shouted.

Ginny and her parents each shouted, "_Ennervate!_" and the gnomes shakily got to their feet. Laughing they leapt from behind the bushes and grabbed for the robed figures that were passing by. In a role reversal, it was the gnomes that threw the wizards and they actually took out four of the Death Eaters before they were shrunk.

"Air assault!" Ron yelled, which was all Fred and George needed. Whooping, they flew forward, dropping their arsenal on the Death Eaters. That was when the spells began flying. It quickly became obvious that, while they were great protection from most of the curses coming their way, the stone barriers weren't all that too good of an idea. Every time a curse hit, shards of rock broke off turning into flying shrapnel. Before Hermione finally go the brilliant idea of throwing up a few shield charms, Harry's face was littered with hundreds of tiny cuts.

Everything was going well until Harry spotted one of the figures look up and raise her wand. He knew it was Bellatrix by the fact that she was laughing madly. He tried to shout a warning to the twins, but it was too late. A purple light shot out of her wand and flew straight at on of the two brooms. Everything seemed to freeze as the spell hit one of the twins on the leg. He fell forward, draped across the broom. The other twin screamed trying to catch up to him as the broom fell out of the sky. The two figures disappeared beneath the canopy of the woods next to the Burrow.

Mrs. Weasley, upon seeing one of her sons crash, jumped out from behind her rock and ran for the woods. She was within a few feet when a red beam hit her in the back, trowing her forward. Hitting the ground with a sickening crunch, she didn't move. Harry could only watch all of this in horror. How in bloody hell did things go wrong so quickly? Even though he knew better, he prayed this was all a nightmare and any moment he would wake up.

"Molly!" Mr. Weasley shouted. He started to go out to her, but Ron held him back. "Let me go! Ronald Billius Weasley, let me go right this instant. I have to get to her. Molly needs help. LET ME GO!"

"Charlie, help me! I can't hold him much longer," Ron yelled struggling to keep his dad from going out from behind the cover of the rock.

Charlie dashed over and helped Ron to restrain Mr. Weasley. Meanwhile Ginny kept firing curses at the Death Eaters. Harry could see the tears running down her cheeks and yet she kept fighting. That finally broke him out of his trance and he joined her. But it didn't take the Death Eaters long to realize that there were now only three people fighting back. No matter what he, Ginny, or Hermione did the robed figures slowly advanced on them.

"Harry, look!" Hermione suddenly shouted. When he turned and followed the direction she was looking, he saw what was exciting her.

A new group of wizards and witches ran down the dirt road firing spells at the Death Eaters. He reckoned he could make out Kingsley leading them, and knew that it wouldn't be much longer before the Death Eaters left. Sure enough, he heard Bellatrix shouting at them to leave. In a swirling of black cloaks the Death Eaters lifted their anti-apparition jinx and disappeared.

"OW!" Ron shouted. Harry turned to see him clutching his stomach and Mr. Weasley racing across the grounds to his wife. The attack was over but it sickened Harry's stomach to think of what the casualties were. From the look of the spell Bellatrix had used and the fact that he had probably crashed, one of the twins didn't look like they would make it. And from the way Mrs. Weasley was laying so still...

Harry bent in half and vomited the remains of his dinner. Mrs. Weasley had been the only maternal figure he had ever known, almost like a second mother. The thought that he would never again be subjected to one of her deathly tight hugs filled him with dread. Wiping his mouth, he straightened up. Ginny would need him. If he felt this bad, there was no telling how much worse she was.

But when he turned around, he realized she wasn't there. Looking around he spotted here kneeling next to Mrs. Weasley. Even more confusing she was running her wand over the woman. Her head whipped up and the next second she was shouting for a portkey to St. Mungo's. Harry ran over to them. When he made it there, he nearly fell back in shock. Mrs. Weasley was covered in blood.

When Ginny looked up, red smeared her face but she was smiling. "She's alive Harry. She's alive."

Kingsley rushed over and handed them a dented old cup. As the familiar pulling sensation jerked behind his stomach, Harry allowed himself to hope. Maybe Mrs. Weasley would be okay. Maybe Fred, or George, would also live.

Maybe Voldemort wouldn't win the war after all, as long as there were those whom were unwilling to lay down and die.


	13. Unexpected Meetings

_A/N: Okay, I know it's been awhile since I've updated, but I now have the time to get back to finishing this story. I'll try to upload at least a new chapter every week. Sorry for the long delay. Please review and tell me what you think._

**Chapter 13 – Unexpected Meetings**

"I know what you're thinking."

Harry looked up. He had been sitting with his head in his hands, slowly going over what had happened at the Burrow, wondering what he could have done differently. It was his fault that Mrs. Weasley now lay in the other room, a group of healers rushing about, shouting orders at each other, trying frantically to save her life. The fact that they had yet to hear word from Fred or George also weighed on his conscience.

Ginny stood before him, a determined expression on her face. "I know exactly what you're thinking. Stop it right now.."

Instead of answering Harry looked around. They were all sitting in the waiting room at St. Mungo's. Only Mr. Weasley was allowed to be in the room with his wife as they tried to heal her. Ron was slumped in a chair against the far wall, his face white and pale. He stared, his eyes slightly out of focus, while Hermione stroked his arm whispering something to him. Charlie paced from one side of the room to the other, in front of the door. He cursed every few minutes, wiping a hand across his face.

"I mean it Harry. There's nothing we could have down better. It's not your fault," Ginny said again. She sat down, looking at him wearily. "I'm worried enough as it is with mum hurt so bad, so I don't want to worry about you falling back into the pit of guilt you visit so often."

With a pang of guilt, ironically enough, Harry realized she was right. Now wasn't the time to sit there feeling guilty. Reaching out, he pulled her against his chest. It really wasn't surprising when she started crying. It was bound to happen. He just held her, rubbing her back. Eventually she fell asleep but not before his shirt was considerably damp.

Harry quietly conjured a pillow and other than the fact that it was more of a trapezoid than the square one he had intended, he decided it was good enough. Easing out from under Ginny, he put the pillow where he had been sitting and gently laid her head on it. Then he silently went about the task of cleaning the blood off of her hands. When he was done he looked down at her. For her sake he didn't dwell too long on the mystery of why she still stood by him when he was the reason her family was being attacked.

Over an hour later, the door finally opened. Mr. Weasley walked out with a shaken expression. Charlie stopped and spun around. "Is she okay?

"They've managed to stop the bleeding and heal her wounds..."

"But?" Charlie asked softly.

Mr. Weasley put a hand on Charlie's shoulder. "But she hasn't woken up. The healers aren't sure but they think she _can't_ wake up. It's what the muggles call a ... well I'm not sure. Hermione?"

When Hermione answered, she whispered so softly that Harry barely heard her.

"Yes, that's it. You mother appears to be in a coma," Mr. Weasley said, taking a seat across from Ginny. "They're trying every spell and potion they can think of but it doesn't look good."

Charlie lingered a moment then went back to his frantic pacing by the door. Ron looked a little better than before. Even from across the room Harry could hear Hermione trying to get him to close his eyes and rest. Mr. Weasley reached across the small space between him and Ginny. He moved a few stray hairs from her closed eyes, then tenderly caressed her cheek.

"Healer Marcus," he started but his voice broke. A minute later he had it under control again. "He said that if it hadn't been for the quick work Ginny done on her, Molly wouldn't have made it."

Harry waited silently having no idea what to say. Should he try to reassure Mr. Weasley that everything was going to be okay? Or would the older man see right through that since Harry himself feared of what would happen? Standing quietly seemed to be the right thing to do however, for Mr. Weasley suddenly looked up at him.

"Molly will pull through this, Harry. I'm sure of it. She knows she's still needed here with us and if there's one thing she's good at, it's fighting."

Mr. Weasley then stood up and went over to Ron and Charlie, strongly hugging each boy. While the Weasley men talked, Hermione walked over. Wiping tears from her red eyes she stood beside him.

"She's right you know," Hermione said. "Ginny, I mean. What she told you was the truth. You're not to blame for any of this."

"But I was in charge. I should have–"

Hermione's eyes narrowed. "Fine then, you're right. It is your fault. Ron was over there feeling guilty and I've been telling him the same thing Ginny was trying to tell you but I guess I was wrong. If it's your fault then he's also to blame."

Harry glanced over at his best mate. Ron shouldn't be feeling guilty. Just because the red head organized everyone didn't mean it was his fault. There was no way of telling what would happen during the attack. If anyone should be held accountable it was Bellatrix and the Death Eaters. They were–

Harry broke off realizing what Hermione had been up to. Feeling a lot better now he shook his head. "Do you always have to be right Hermione?"

"Of course she does. She wouldn't be our Hermione if she wasn't."

They turned to see George behind them. Fred had one arm around his brother's back and was standing on one leg but he was smiling. "What? Didn't think we would go down that easily did you?"

George nodded. "It'll take at least five–"

"Make that ten–" Fred interjected.

"Okay, ten then–"

"Maybe even twenty–"

"At least that many curses to stop us"

Fred looked over at George. "You think twenty one would be too many?"

"Depends on–"

"Exactly. That's it then. We're indestructible."

For the first time since arriving at St. Mungo's, Harry smiled. It was hard not to with the twins around. Knowing that Ginny would want to know that her brothers were safe and alright, he gently shook her.

"Gin?" he whispered. She moaned, trying to pull away from him but he shook her again. "Come on, wake up. There's some one here to see you."

"Mmm?"

"Get off your lazy bum," Fred said hobbling over and sitting in one of the seats next to her.

"You know what I think Fred?"

"Do tell George."

"Why waste the chance to test our new product?"

"Surely you don't mean–"

"Why yes, I do–"

"Use the new potion–"

"That turns our little Gin-Gin's–"

"Face into a purple flobber worm."

Ginny woke up glaring at the twins, then realizing who was standing there, she jumped up and hugged them. Harry and Hermione stood back as Mr. Weasley, Charlie, and Ron came over. When the twins asked why everyone was there and where Mrs. Weasley was, Hermione leaned over.

"Will you step outside for a minute with me Harry?" she asked quietly. When he nodded, she led him out of the doors unto the fourth floor. They went up the staircase to the fifth floor where the tea room was. Hermione went to the far corner were a couple of comfortable chairs waited.

"What's wrong Hermione?" Harry asked wondering why she was so worried that someone would overhear them. It was obvious from the way she kept glancing around that what she wanted to say must be serious. Why else would she drag him away from the Weasleys to talk to him?.

"I saw something after you left with Ginny and Mr. Weasley to bring Mrs. Weasley here. Knowing we wouldn't be able to help with Mrs. Weasley here, Charlie, Ron, and I went to look for the twins. On the edge of the woods bordering the Burrow we decided to split up so we would find them quicker. I looked for about ten minutes before red sparks were sent up, which meant either Ron or Charlie had found them. It had been Charlie and he had only found their brooms which meant they must have already left. Anyway on my way back to the Burrow was when..."

Hermione trailed off, once again scanning the room. Harry cast the Muffliato spell, telling himself that it was to ease Hermione's nerves and not for the fact that he was becoming a little paranoid himself. "Okay. What happened that has you so worried?"

"That's the thing Harry. There's no way it could have been him. I know he's made a few mistakes recently but surely he wouldn't have went this far." She suddenly seemed anxious. "I saw Snape and Malfoy talking with–"

"What?" Harry yelled jumping up, unconsciously drawing his wand.

"Shh!" Hermione whispered and indicated for him to sit back down.

Realizing that Snape and Malfoy would be long gone by now, Harry reluctantly returned his wand to his pocket and sat down. "What were the snarky git and ferret doing there?"

"I didn't want to say this in front of Ron or the rest of the Weasleys. There was someone else there, talking with Snape and Malfoy. It was Percy, Harry."

Percy? The Weasley who was always such a strict rule follower, having a conversation with known and wanted Death Eaters? There had to be some explanation. When he suggested one of these to Hermione, the bushy haired witch just shook her head.

"I don't think he was under the Imperious Curse. I couldn't hear what they were saying but from the way they acted, they were arguing. If Percy had been under any curses he wouldn't have been able to disagree."

Hermione's reasoning made sense to Harry. But there was still the fact that this meant not only was Percy a traitor to his own family but to the Ministry of Magic as well, and it was the latter that surprised Harry the most. One of the last things he expected from Percy was for him to betray the Minister. As far as he could remember Percy had never shown any special attention to Snape or Malfoy at school, so why now? Something about it didn't make sense, yet Harry couldn't pinpoint what.

"I don't think we should tell the Weasleys about this right now," Harry said coming to a decision. The last thing his adoptive family needed to hear right now was that their estranged son was knowingly dealing with Death Eaters.

Hermione seemed relieved to hear him say it. "I think you're right. Ron might do something stupid if we were to tell him. We don't need anymore attention drawn to us while we hunt for the Horcruxes."

After that they headed back downstairs to see if anything had changed. But before they got to the room the Weasleys waited in, Harry and Hermione ran into Neville Longbottom and his Grandmother, who were just leaving from visiting his parents. It was the elderly witch that saw them first.

"Ah, Mr. Potter," she said. She looked them up and down, a tiny frown on her face. "I dare say it's nice to meet you again. May I ask what you two are wearing?"

Confused Harry had to look down to realize what she was talking about. As soon as he saw that he was wearing his pajamas, his face heated up. In all of the excitement of the night he had forgotten that everyone was still wearing their sleeping clothes. Staying with the Weasleys, he had gotten used to seeing them in their pajamas.

Between him and Hermione, they told Neville and his Gran about the attack and Mrs. Weasley. As Neville's eyes grew large, so did Mrs. Longbottom's frown. The intimidating witch solemnly nodded. "It was only a matter of time before something this tragic happened. Please lead the way, my dear boy. Neville and I shall go see how the family is doing."

As he started for the Weasleys room, Hermione trailed behind stopping Neville. She began urgently whispering to him, intriguing Harry to what she was saying but he didn't stop, knowing she would tell him later.

When they walked into the room, Harry and Mrs. Longbottom found all of the Weasleys sitting down. All of them, except for Mrs. Weasley that is. Surprising Harry, Percy was seated in a chair a little ways from the others. He stopped near the door wondering what he should do. Act like nothing had happened between them and that he didn't know about Percy's rendezvous with Snape? Or confront the Minister's assistant right then? Luckily the sight of Neville's Gran distracted everyone so they didn't notice Harry hesitate.

"Augusta?" Mr. Weasley said standing up.

"I'm so sorry to hear about Molly, Arthur. She's a fine woman," Mrs. Longbottom said clutching one of Mr. Weasley's hands in hers. "What have the Healers said?"

It was plain that Mr. Weasley was struggling when he said, "Healer Marcus just came out with an update. It was the Animus Somnus Curse. We think it was Bellatrix's wand that did it. She was quite fond of using it when she wasn't throwing around the Unforgivables."

Hermione and Neville slipped in behind Harry. He heard Hermione's small gasp as she saw Percy. Neville however just walked over and sat down next to Ron not bothered by the fact that Percy was there.

"That is most unfavorable," Mrs. Longbottom said, sitting down. She seemed to be thinking hard about something. She glanced over at Neville as he sat talking with Ron, and nodded. "Very well. Is the situation the same as it was during the last war? I think it is time that I take a more aggressive role. I understand that Alastor has disgraced the name of the Order by the alliance with the Minster, but I dare say there has been a new group formed for the fight. Please inform the leader I would like to join, if you will Arthur."

Mr. Weasley looked like he had been expecting this. "You're right Augusta. There is a new group and it's called Dumbledore's Army."

Neville's head jerked up, looking at Harry and Hermione.

"I would be more than glad for you to join us, but the decision lies with our leader," Mr. Weasley said and gestured at Harry.

When Mrs. Longbottom turned around, there was only a brief flash of surprise on her face before it was quickly replaced by the calm frown. "Very well. Mr. Potter, if you will have me, I want to join Dumbledore's Army. Don't be fooled by my age, for there is still plenty of fight left in me. And Neville will be joining as well."

Behind her, Neville's face reddened considerably, yet Harry could tell that his friend was excited and proud that his Gran had mentioned him. Knowing that he would be a fool for refusing such a formidable witch as Mrs. Longbottom, and great fighter that Neville had proven himself to be over the last two years, Harry nodded. He didn't like the idea that Percy had heard every word but it was too late now. Besides, Moody was bound to expect the members who left the Order, to reform.

"Hermione, will you give them a coin?" Harry asked. As she quickly made two for the Longbottoms, he looked back at Neville's Gran. "Neville knows how they work, so he can explain them to you."

It wasn't long after the Longbottoms left that Arthur urged everyone else to go home and get some rest. Healer Marcus had assured them that, after healing up the cuts Mrs. Weasley received from a slashing spell, she would be okay. The Animus Somnus curse wouldn't kill her, merely leave her in an unresponsive state until the counter curse could be performed. The only problem was that it had to be used with the wand that cast the curse in the first place. If it had indeed been Bellatrix's wand it would most likely be awhile before Mrs. Weasley was revived.

Mr. Weasley told them to come back the next day in the afternoon. Everyone reluctantly stood and left. Percy was the first out the door, disappearing wherever. Fred and George went to their loft above the joke shop while Charlie, Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny went back to the Burrow. Kingsley had sent word to Arthur that there would be a few Aurors watching the place and that the small damage to the house had been repaired.

Both exhausted, Harry and Ginny only shared a brief kiss before parting and going to bed. Harry heard Ron enter behind him, but a minute later he was asleep. He slept without a single nightmare. Apparently either Voldemort was too busy to torture him, or Harry had finally grabbed a little control on his link with the dark wizard.

The next day, Harry woke before anyone else. He decided to make breakfast even though it was only an hour before lunch. After all, Mrs. Weasley was the one who usually did it, and now that she was... well it was at least something he could do to help. He was almost done making the last of the pancakes when Ginny came shuffling into the room, closely followed by a very drowsy Hermione. There was one thing he had learned in the past couple of weeks, never bother Hermione Jean Granger until she had at _least_ half an hour to wake up.

"Smells good," Ginny said stepping beside him. Unlike her roommate, Ginny was a natural morning person. "I didn't know you could cook Harry."

"I guess that's one good thing I can say my Aunt taught me," Harry said, trying to keep the bitterness out of his voice. "After all the time I spent in front of the stove _helping_ her, I was bound to learn a few things."

"Remind me to thank her for that next time I see her," Ginny said grabbing a piece of toast. "Of course it will come after I beat the stuffing out of her for the way she treated you. Or maybe I should say thanks then the beating. What do you think Hermione?"

Hermione grunted, not moving other than lifting the cup of coffee in her hands. Ginny was the only one who could get away with talking to her before the caffeine hit the bushy haired witch's system. Harry figured this came from the fact that the two shared a room so many times that Hermione eventually got used to Ginny's attitude.

"I thought I smelled food," Ron said, standing in the doorway. He grinned at the large stack of pancakes at the middle of the table. "Wow mate. Why didn't you cook like this while we were at the Dursleys?"

"It kind of helps having a kitchen don't you think Ron? Of course if you want to ask Aunt Petunia if we could use hers, be my guess." Harry said turning the stove off and joining them at the table.

It didn't take Ron long to decide that that wouldn't be a good idea after all. Since Mr. Weasley had stayed the night with Mrs. Weasley and Charlie had left early to track down Bill and Fleur to tell them the news, the four were the only ones left at the Burrow. Fred and George were working at their shop.

After breakfast was done, and since they wouldn't be let in to see Mrs. Weasley until after lunch, Harry decided it was time for some answers. He had a long list of questions for Hermione but he told her and Ron about his theory on Voldemort's extended vacation first. Since Ginny already knew practically as much as his two friends, he didn't mind her staying.

Predictably it was Hermione whom first grasped the importance of Harry's thoughts. Now that she was wide awake, she was back to her brilliant, out spoken self. "Of course. And I bet you think that's where he's left one, don't you? It makes perfect sense really. I mean, what better place than the home of the man he idolized?"

"Wait a minute," Ron said, spraying crumbs across the table. He was still eating one of the last pieces of toast. "Are you saying there's a Horcrux at this cabin?"

"Probably," Harry said then sighed. "There's just the little fact that I have no idea where Slytherin's cabin is. Do you Hermione?"

She shook her head. "All it says in _Hogwarts, A History_ is that Slytherin separated from Hogwarts and disappeared. It's remarkably similar to what happened to Voldemort really."

"How's that?" Harry asked knowing that Hermione would be his best chance at finding the cabin.

"Well, no one knows where either man went do they? I found a few passages here and there on Slytherin sightings but he didn't reappear for another four years to challenge Gryffindor to a duel, and well you know what happened from there. Explain again what you saw. Maybe we can figure out a general location."

So Harry went over everything he had seen and waited. Unfortunately, Hermione couldn't help.

"That's just not enough to pinpoint a specific area," she said exasperated. "There's also the problem that we don't even know if it's around this part of the world. It could be in Africa for all we know. I guess we'll have to follow Dumbledore's note and try to get the map out of the locket and ring."

"But where's the ring now?" Ron asked taking a swig of pumpkin juice. "The last place Harry said he saw it was in Dumbledore's office. Do you think it could still be there?"

Harry shook his head. "I don't think so. One of the last times I went to see Dumbledore it was gone off the shelf."

"Didn't you three tell Professor McGonagall about the Horcruxes?" Ginny asked. "Maybe she's seen it since taking over as Headmistress. Ask her about it."

"Good idea Gin," Harry said smiling at her. He leaned over and gave her quick kiss causing Ron to protest, but they of course ignored him.

"Oh be quiet Ron," Hermione said before shutting him up with a kiss of her own. She leaned back, smiling."Okay it's decided then. We ask Professor McGonagall if she has seen the ring and then use the map the two Horcruxes supposedly create, but it would be nice knowing what kind of place Slytherin's Cabin is. There could be hundreds of curses and jinxes surrounding it."

It was silent as everyone thought about what kind of curse one of the Hogwarts founders could come up with, not to mention any that Voldemort himself had cast. A few minutes later Harry looked up. "You must be losing your touch Hermione. You should have thought of this first."

"What?" his three friends asked at the same time.

"What better place to look for information to Slytherin's hideout than a whole chamber dedicated to him?"

Hermione gasped. "Of course! The room with all of the scrolls. There's bound to be something in there. There could even be something about Horcruxes."

Ron and Ginny both looked confused so Hermione explained about the scrolls inside the room in the Chamber of Secrets. Before, she had only told everyone that Harry was hit by a mysterious light from a snake statue. In the fear for her two friends she had forgot to mention the scrolls to anyone else.

"So it's decided then," Ron said. "We go visit mum, then stop by Hogwarts and talk with Professor McGonagall about the ring."

Harry stood up pushing his chair back under the table. "I'm going to get my stuff from the Dursleys first. I'll meet you back here in an hour."

"I'm going with you," Ginny said. "I don't want you to be alone with those people more than you already have."

When Ron and Hermione agreed with Ginny and started to stand up Harry shook his head. "No. I'm going alone. It's past time that I have a talk with Aunt Petunia. No offense, but I don't think she'd be as talkative if one of you were there."

After helping to clear the dishes, Harry gave Ginny a kiss and left out of the back door. All the way to the dirt road, where he could safely Apparate, he couldn't help but feel he was leaving something unfinished. He planned on going to Number Four Privet Drive, grab his things, talk with his Aunt Petunia and leave. He toyed with the idea of leaving his room the way it was, just to freak out his aunt and uncle. But if he was to do that they would probably end counting it as a blessing and giving the room to Dudley.

He Apparated, still not used to the dark squeeze, behind Aunt Petunia's Rosebush, or rather the ruined remains of it. In the light it was clear to see that Ron had pretty much destroyed it that night he fell into it. He was so busy laughing at the memory of his friend trapped inside the bush that he didn't place the voices he heard from inside, like he would have if his attention hadn't been distracted. So when he opened the back door and stepped inside it was to find one of the last people he would have ever expected to be sitting with his Aunt Petunia.

"Professor?" He stuttered looking back and forth between the man and his Aunt Petunia. The sight of the two sitting at the table was comical yet not the least bit funny.

"Harry my boy!" Professor Slughorn said beaming. "Please join us. Your lovely aunt was just enthralling me with the tale of a certain Aunt Marge. Mighty powerful magic you possess, Harry."

Harry warily went to the small table and pulled out a chair, expecting his aunt to start screaming any second. Yet oddly enough, Aunt Petunia was just staring into her cup with a crooked smile. The realization hit him. He turned to the Potions Master. "You gave her a potion?"

Slughorn laughed, his great belly shaking. "Knew I couldn't fool you, my boy. Imagine my surprise when I rang the bell and was greeted by your aunt, only to receive the door slammed in my face when your name was hardly out of my mouth. Took quite a few potions, and a spell actually, to calm her down."

Harry didn't know whether to be amused or offended that Slughorn had treated his aunt that way. What was he thinking? Of course it was amusing to see Aunt Petunia grinning and giggling like a little girl. "What are you doing here Professor?"

But before the man could answer something flew into the back of his head. Grunting Harry reached up to shove it off only to receive a handful of feathers and a very sharp peck on his hand. Finally his owl settled on the table, ruffling her feathers and clicking her beak at him.

"Hedwig!" Harry cried smiling. At the end of last year he decided to leave Hedwig at Hogwarts, knowing that she would be safe and well cared for there. If anything was to happen to one of the first friends he had ever made, Harry didn't know what he would do. Hedwig had been there, suffering alongside him, summer after summer at the Dursleys. But it seemed she was a little upset at having been left behind. "Come on girl. You know I didn't want to leave you there."

Hedwig gave him a reproachful gaze before finally hooting and hopping unto his shoulder. Grinning, Harry gently smoothed her feathers before looking over at the Potions Master. "Is this why you came? To bring Hedwig?"

"Oh no. Quite the opposite in fact. I was coming to see you and this magnificent bird wouldn't let me leave her behind. She insisted on coming. So much, in fact, that I had to stop by and have Poppy heal my hand before we left."

"No offense Professor. But why are you here? I mean, I never expected to see any of my Professors at my aunt and uncle's house."

Slughorn dug through his coat for a minute until he finally pulled out a tiny package. He quickly enlarged it and pushed it across the table to Harry. "There's two reasons I have come. One was to bring you this. Recently Dumbledore's will was read and he has left everything in the box to you."

Surprised Harry opened the package to find that Professor Dumbledore had left him his Pensieve and a few bottles with swirling memories in them. They had to be the ones that the two of them had went over the year before, tracking Voldemort's past. For some reason his throat was getting tight and his eyes were starting to burn. But tears never came, for the only other thing in the box caught his attention. It was the cracked ring. The remnants from one of Voldemort's Horcruxes.

He was so distracted by the ring that it took him a second to realize that Professor Slughorn was talking. Tearing his gaze from the box, he caught the Potions Master eye. "Sorry Professor. What did you say?"

With no trace of humor or his usual jovial attitude, Professor Slughorn solemnly returned the stare. "The second reason I have come, Harry my boy, is to warn you. When you return to Hogwarts, so will another boy."

"Who?"

"Draco Malfoy is returning for his seventh year."


	14. Truth Revealed

**Chapter 14 – Truth Revealed**

"What!?" Ron yelled, dropping the cracked ring that he had been examining. It rolled underneath the table that held the box of Dumbledore's possessions. Harry had been recounting his trip to the Dursleys and had just told them about Malfoy returning to Hogwarts.

Hermione gasped falling into her chair while Ginny merely stood silent, her eyes wide. Harry had, at first hearing the news, refused to believe the new Potions Master. It was Ron who asked the same question Harry had asked Slughorn, himself.

"How in bloody hell did the damned ferret get away with what he did last year?"

It was a testament at how shocked she was, that Hermione didn't even bother to scold Ron for his language. Sighing Harry plopped down at the end of the couch. He rubbed his temples before looking up. "You might as well take a seat."

Ron and Ginny joined him, while Hermione scooted her chair closer. Ron summoned the ring and gently put it back inside the box with the Pensieve. Even though he didn't feel like talking, Harry was about to tell them what Professor Slughorn had said, when his eyes caught the Pensieve. Why not show them instead? He silently thanked Dumbledore, realizing the Pensieve would be very helpful to them during the hunt for the other Horcruxes. If one of them was to see something important, the others would be able to see it as well.

Pulling the box to him, Harry lifted the Pensieve out and set it on the small table in front of the couch. But before he could pull the memory out, a regal looking barn owl flew through the window. It landed in front of Hermione, who put a few knuts in the little leather pouch and untied her copy of the Daily Prophet.

Seeing the rolled up paper made Harry remember that today was the day Rita Skeeter's article was to be printed. He never actually got around to proofreading it, instead relying on Hermione's threat of what would happen if she stepped out of line. Even though every part of him wanted to reach over and jerk the paper out of Hermione's hands, he managed to wait until she unrolled it and laid it on the table so all of them could read it.

A couple of the pictures Rita took covered half of the front page, all of them with Wormtail awake and struggling so people could be sure he was still alive. Then followed a huge headline:

_Sirius Black Declared Not Guilty By The Wizengamot_

_by_

_Rita Skeeter_

_It is true dear readers. We have been deceived. One of the most famous prisoners of Azkaban is innocent after all. This reporter, _Rita Skeeter writes_, was recently in the presence of living proof that Sirius Black did not betray the Potters and later kill twelve muggles in a confrontation with long time friend Peter Pettigrew._

_Originally thought to have been killed by a malicious Mr. Black, Pettigrew, in a momentary stroke of brilliance, cut off one of his fingers and escaped prior to the explosion that destroyed so many lives on a street in muggle London, effectively framing Black. How, you may ask, did he escape? It would seem Mr. Pettigrew was an unregistered Animagus and used this ability to disappear in the sewer as a small mangy rat._

_Sirius Black, who sadly perished while fighting in the Department of Ministries battle a year ago, will never get to see his name cleared. But he will be remembered by close friends and his Godson, Harry Potter. When asked for a comment, Mr. Potter only had one thing to say._

"_Sirius was a great man. Even when he was hiding from the Ministry, while trying to prove his innocence, he always had time to help me."_

Harry stopped reading. The article went on giving the history of the two men, something he already knew and didn't want to relive. A few seconds later his friends finished and looked at him. It was Hermione who cleared her throat and spoke first.

"Well that wasn't bad was it?" she said nervously. "Except for the last part where she quoted you. What makes her think―"

"It's okay Hermione," Harry said smiling. In fact the article was pretty good. She might have made the quote up but it was the truth. "Guess she _can _write an article without smearing my name."

"Look at this!" Ron cried pointing at a smaller article near the bottom of the front page. The picture had Rufus Scrimgeour standing next to a large group of people, most of them with vaguely familiar faces, shaking hands and smiling with a very unforgettable man. Mad-Eye Moody returned the minister's handshake with a crooked smile.

_**Minister Grants License to Kill**_

_In a surprising move last week, Minister of Magic Rufus Scrimgeour granted the Order of the Phoenix, advanced Auror class privileges. The newly established Order now has the right to use the killing curse when fighting against known criminals, create portkeys, and employ Veritaserum during interrogations. The opinion of witches and wizards across our nation are split with half rallying behind the new act and the other half faithfully opposing it._

"_It's about time the Ministry does something," Harold Skively comments. "Why shouldn't we have more people on our side with the right to kill? You can bet your Niffler's buttocks the Death Eaters won't hesitate in using the Killing Curse. It also solves the problem of Azkaban. They wouldn't be able to escape if they're dead, would they?"_

_Many of our long time readers will recognize Mr. Skively as the man who put forth a bill to the Wizengamot for a national Merlin day for the month of August. On the opposite side of the fence an Obliviator for the Accidental Magic Reversal Squad and trained Hitwizard, known by faithful readers as the hero during the Chipping Clodbury goblin riot, Arnold Peasegood is dead set against the Minister's new act._

"_It's too much power to be given so freely," Mr. Peasegood says with a grim shake of his head. "We should be absolutely certain a witch or wizard can handle the Auror Privileges honorably before granting it to them. What exactly do we know about this Order of the Phoenix other than Albus Dumbledore supposedly lead it while he was alive?"_

_Is the Minister wrong for his latest act? Or is he taking the first step in turning this war? The Daily Prophet wants to know your opinion, faithful readers. Whether you love the new act or hate it, please send us an owl with a few sentences reflecting your sentiments. _

"This is bad," Hermione said solemnly. She glanced at each of them as if challenging them to argue but all of them were nodding.

Harry vaguely remember hearing somewhere that Moody always brought his prisoners in alive but now that he had the Minister of Magic's approval to question them to his heart's content, would that still be the case? Taking another look at the picture, Harry noticed quite a few new members of the Order and most of them looked to be about the same type of character as Mundungus Fletcher; shifty men who wouldn't mind having a little bit of fun with their new powers.

"What is he playing at?" Ron asked clearly disgruntled. "Mr. Peasegood is right. How do they know that some of the members of the new Order aren't Death Eaters."

"Don't forget about Moody's eye," Harry said leaning back into the couch. "I mean he'd be able to see through their sleeves to find out if they had the dark mark or not."

Hermione shook her head. "That's assuming if he would even bother."

"What does that mean?" Ginny asked sounding surprised. She studied her friend. "Surely you don't think he's a Death Eater?"

"No, I don't think he's fallen to that level yet. But he's a bit power hungry now, isn't he?"

None of them answered her and it seemed she hadn't really wanted one. They sat around the table in silence. Harry couldn't believe that Rufus had gotten away with passing the law in front of the Wizengamot. One would think a majority of the members of the wizarding council would have enough sense to see that this was the first step down a dark road. One that would be hard to backtrack later.

He couldn't help but think that the Minister wouldn't have gotten away with this if Professor Dumbledore would have still been alive and head of the Wizengamot. The old Headmaster never did believe in using the Unforgivable Curses. The only time the subject of Grindelwald had been mentioned, all Dumbledore would say was that he hadn't defeated the dark wizard by using the killing curse. When Harry had asked how, Dumbledore had simply told him it wasn't the right time for him to know; something that Harry heard a lot from the Headmaster.

Suddenly he wanted to get out of the house for awhile. He was starting to fell a little claustrophobic which was really strange seeing that he had grown up used to small spaces thanks to his bedroom being under the stairs. "Let's go see Mrs. Weasley."

Everyone stood up but then Ron pointed at the empty pensieve. "Can we see the memory when we get back? I still want to know how the slimy git managed to get away from what he did last year."

Harry nodded. How could he have forgotten that? Just the thought that Malfoy wasn't being sent to Azkaban for his part in Dumbledore's death made him angry. Professor Slughorn had passed along the information that Draco had turned away from the Death Eaters, giving information in exchange for a full pardon. Apparently the Minister didn't think Draco played a big part that night, believing the Death Eaters would have found a way into the castle anyway, and readily agreed to the bargain.

Harry didn't believe for one minute that Draco was turning sides. Smarter minds than the ferret had fooled them before. After all, look what Snape accomplished. True Draco had wavered that night on the astronomy tower, and might have lowered his wand if his backup hadn't arrived so soon, but that didn't change the fact that he had hurt Katie and Ron in his pathetic attempts to kill Dumbledore.

Again Harry took Ginny with him when they Apparated. Although he would never say it aloud, he was getting used to the strange feeling during Apparition. When they arrived, the reception room only had a few other people in it. One that stood out was an elderly wizard near the back of the room clucking his tongue impatiently, and Harry could see why. The entire left side of the man's body was covered in feathers, and his arm was a giant wing. Trying not to stare at him they went up to the reception desk to find out what room Mrs. Weasley had been moved to during the night.

When they got to the room the only person there was Mr. Weasley. He sat by the bed holding his wife's hand, his eyes red and his clothes rumpled. He jerked a little when they opened the door. Harry felt terrible when he saw Ron's dad lift Mrs. Weasley's hand to his lips before standing up. No matter what Ginny or Hermione said, a small part of him would always feel guilty for the way the usually jovial Weasley matriarch now lay deathly pale on the bed.

"Oh dad," Ginny cried running past Harry and throwing herself in Mr. Weasley's arms. Ron gave them a moment then walked over only to be pulled into a hug by both of them. Once again Harry felt like he was imposing on a family moment. From the way Hermione fidgeted, shifting her weight from one foot to the other, she did too.

"How is she?" Ron asked his voice strained.

Mr. Weasley sighed, his face weary. He had one arm around Ginny and she didn't appear to want to move. "It's the same as it was last night. I swear she could just be sleeping and about to wake up anytime. But other than that, she's fine. Healer Marcus was in this morning to check up on her. When the curse is reversed, he said there wouldn't be any lasting effects."

Ginny finally pulled away from him. "Why don't you go home and get some sleep dad? I'll stay with mum."

But Mr. Weasley shook his head. "No, I'm fine. Minerva wants to have Molly set up at Hogwarts tonight. I want to be here until then at least. I trust Madame Pomfrey to take care of her. But I will go home for a shower and quick change of clothes if you don't mind."

Ron put a hand on his shoulder. "We'll stay."

When Ginny, Hermione, and Harry all agreed Mr. Weasley finally nodded. "Thanks you lot. I shouldn't be more than half an hour."

After he left, the room was silent. Hermione leaned over, grabbed his hand and whispered, "Come on, Harry."

She led him over to Ron and Ginny. Both were standing beside Mrs. Weasley's bed staring down at her. Harry pulled Ginny to him at the same time Hermione did it to Ron. Unsurprisingly, the brother and sister broke down. As Ginny wept into his chest Harry looked over and caught Hermione's eyes over Ron's trembling shoulder. Even though she didn't say a word, Harry had no trouble understanding her.

_This is terrible Harry. How are we going to fix this?_

-------------

That night Fred and George joined them for supper. Harry and Hermione teamed up to make a quick and simple dinner of spaghetti with meatballs. Other than the fact that the twins had charmed the meatballs when they weren't looking, the meal went pretty well. The twins even admitted, later, that it was getting annoying having to chase the meatballs around the plate as they rolled away every time the fork was lowered.

After everyone was finished eating Harry cleared the table and carried the dishes to the sink. Hermione followed with another armful and when Harry turned on the water to start washing them, she pulled him back. She drew her wand from her pocket and mumbled a few words causing the dishes to wash themselves. It was the same spell Mrs. Weasley always used.

"It just seems right to do it this way," Hermione explained watching the plates float under the water, rinsing the soapsuds away.

As they waited, Harry suddenly remembered one of the things he wanted to ask Hermione. "Yesterday when we where at St. Mungo's, I saw you pull Neville aside. What was that about?"

"I told him we might not be going back to Hogwarts," Hermione said looking anxious. "We can trust Neville. He always―"

Harry stopped her, holding up a hand. "I know we can trust Neville, Hermione. If there's one person I know I can rely on that's returning to Hogwarts, other than Ginny of course, it's either Neville or Luna."

Hermione looked doubtful at the mention of Luna, but didn't say anything, making Harry glad. He didn't quite know why, but he felt really close to Luna. To be fair, he had never thought of the slightly odd Ravenclaw girl as anything more than a friend, yet he really liked her. There was no doubt she would be willing to help if they needed it, and that went a long way in Harry's eyes.

"You think we might need him for something?" Harry asked. A inkling of what Hermione wanted was trickling into his mind but he wanted to hear what she had say.

"That's just it Harry. I don't know," Hermione replied flicking her wand at the now clean dishes, sending them flying into the appropriate cabinets. "We don't know what might happen so I thought it would be best if Neville and Ginny continue teaching the DA inside Hogwarts. Oh, and Luna too of course."

"Sounds like a good idea to me," Harry said meaning every word. Neville had come a long way from the fumbling first year. But he might have trouble standing in front of a room full of people for the first couple of times which was why Ginny and Luna were to help him, Harry realized. "Have you talked to Ginny about this yet?"

"No, I wanted to see what you thought about it before I ask her. Neville said he was in if it was what you wanted."

"Okay. Because it was your idea, I'll let you talk to Ginny about it and either she or Neville can ask Luna when the school year starts," Harry said. "You're right about having them training as backup. I don't like the idea of them fighting but there may be no choice. If Voldemort ever gets up enough nerve to attack Hogwarts the old DA should be able to hold them off long enough for our group to get there to help."

Hermione gave him a sideways smile. "Even Ginny?"

Returning her smile, although slightly grimmer Harry said, "Even Ginny. I don't think I'd be able to stop her and if I somehow did...well, let's just say fighting Voldemort wouldn't be as bad as facing her when it was over."

She laughed. "You have a point there. The famous Weasley temper didn't skip the younger generation, did it? Come on, let's go see what everyone else is up to."

Harry followed Hermione out of the kitchen to find that everyone else were busy playing a quick round of Exploding Snap. The two of the them settled on the couch watching until the deck exploded in George's face ending the game. One good thing about it was that, for the rest of the night, they could easily tell the twins apart.

Hermione, at first declined to join in, but then Harry and Ron gained up on her and finally talked her into it. To their irritation she then managed to wipe the floor with them for three games straight and when she decided to quit to do some reading, no one disagreed with her.

As it neared nine that night, George called a stop to the game. "They'll be here in twenty minutes Gred."

"Just enough time to teach them the game Forge," Fred said. "Oy Hermione! Get your cute bum over here."

She joined them with a pinkish tinge to her face. Harry, Ginny, Ron, and Hermione all waited, intrigued.

"Okay you lot. Here's the deal. Fred and I thought that―"

"With everything that's been happening lately―"

"We could use something to take our minds off of it all for awhile. Something fun. Here's what we came up with," George said reaching into his pocket and pulling out a dozen wrapped candies.

"Ton-Tongue Toffees?" Ron asked clearly disappointed. "What the bloody hell are we going to do with those?"

"Ron!" Hermione cried indignantly.

Fred and George smiled shaking their heads. Fred reached out and laid a hand on Ron's shoulder. "Tut tut Ron, poor misinformed brother o' mine."

"These are _not_ Ton-Tongue Toffees," said George curtly. "They're something new we've been working on for a few months now. Blasted things were a pain in the arse―"

"Not to mention the untold hours and galleons spent in developing just the right formula."

Ginny grabbed one out of George's hand. She held the white candy up studying it. "Well what are they then?"

Fred and George looked at each other grinning then, "Thrilling Truth Taffy!"

George handed everyone a piece of the taffy. When Hermione glanced dubiously at hers, he chuckled. "Relax Hermione. They won't do anything to you. Trust me, we've tested them enough ourselves, to know it only does exactly what the name implies."

Fred nodded excitedly. "It's very similar to Veritaserum, with a few differences. While the potion makes you answer truthfully, Thrilling Truth Taffy persuades you to."

"So what's the difference?" Ron asked examining the unwrapped piece of candy. "It sounds the same to me."

"That's where you're wrong little bro. Although it may not look like it―"

"We do realize how much trouble these could cause if given to someone unknowingly. We changed the formula so―"

"That if the person eating a truth taffy doesn't want to answer the question, he―"

"Or she," Fred added winking at Hermione.

"Doesn't have to. To put it simply; Veritaserum makes the user answer a question truthfully no matter how much they don't want to and Truth Taffy makes you answer truthfully only if you say anything at all. In other words, after taking these," said George holding up a taffy, "you can just keep your mouth shut when asked a question. That way you don't have to give up information that's best kept secret."

"That's brilliant," Hermione said grinning.

"Thanks Hermione, my girl," Fred said moving next to her and putting an arm around her shoulder. "You know if I weren't dating Angelina and you weren't dating Ron―"

"Hey!" Ron yelled. He quickly pushed a laughing Fred from a blushing Hermione and put his own protective arm around her, glaring at his brother.

Harry exchanged a glance with Ginny, wondering if she noticed the same thing he had. Neither Ron or Hermione had denied dating. Ginny smiled at him, giving him a quick kiss on his cheek.

"I was wondering how long it would take them to admit it to someone besides us," Ginny whispered to him. "Everyone can tell they love each other. Even if they didn't catch them snogging their lips off like we did."

Harry laughed, remembering how red his two friends had been that day. He turned back to the others and asked the question that he had been wondering since the twins had brought out the Thrilling Truth Taffy. "What exactly are we going to do with these?"

Fred and George grinned mischievously. "Glad you asked our esteemed investor. Have you ever heard of the muggle game, Truth or Dare?"

Before he could answer, someone knocked on the back door. As Fred and George went to answer it, Harry moved to the doorway between the kitchen and living room, pulling out his wand. A second later, however, he put it back as he recognized the two girls coming inside. After all, he had played Quidditch with them for four years. If Quidditch hadn't been canceled during fourth year, it would have been more. Either way he was glad to see them.

Angelina Johnson and Alicia Spinnet, walked inside, and after kissing their respective boyfriends, spotted Harry in the doorway. Both of them grinned, and came over to hug him.

"Hey Harry. It's good to see you," Alicia said letting go and stepping back so Angelina could hug him.

"It seems you did a great job taking over the captaincy after I left," she said smiling.

"Actually Ginny deserves more credit than I do. I didn't even get to play the last game."

Angelina's grin grew. "I've heard all about the aftermath of _that_ particular match. I'm glad you two finally hooked up. Ginny's a nice girl."

The twins, to their credit, didn't look the least bit put out as the two girls and Harry talked for a few minutes, catching up with each other. Eventually they moved back into the living room where, after the two new arrivals greeted the others, Fred and George quickly explained their new product to them.

When Ron and Ginny asked what Truth or Dare was, it was Hermione who explained. "It's a muggle game that's popular with teenagers. A person starts by asking someone else Truth or Dare, whom has to pick one. Truth, obviously, is just that. You have to answer one question truthfully. I assume that's where the Thrilling Truth Taffy comes into effect?"

Fred and George beamed. "Right you are Hermione. Let's just say it's going to be our insurance that no one is lying. We were thinking the night would be more interesting with the Truth option but if one of us decides to not answer the question, then they can do a Dare."

"What type of dares exactly?" Harry asked nervously. The only time he had ever heard about the muggle game was from overhearing Dudley and his gang. The stories Dudley, and gang, always bragged about ended with the female players of Truth and Dare performing certain acts on the boys. He didn't think Fred and George had that type of game in mind, but if it was in any way hinted that it might Harry was going to leave and demand Ginny to go with him.

George cleared this issue quite quickly. "I think we can all agree that things will not progress into the adult type dares. What we were thinking, was that we all write down the worst possible thing we can think of doing on pieces of paper and throw them into a box."

"If you don't answer your question you have to draw a dare and do it," Fred said looking at them expectantly. "So how about it guys?"

Ron and Ginny readily agreed, excitement shining on their faces. Hermione reluctantly nodded, looking as if she was already regretting doing so. Apparently the twins had told Angelina and Alicia about the game before that night, just leaving out the special addition of the truth taffy, since they were whispering to each other, both smiling.

Knowing he couldn't be the only one not to play, Harry sighed. "So who goes first?"

"Excellent," Fred and George both cried. George passed out pieces of the Thrilling Truth Taffy to those who didn't already have a piece and watched as each person ate theirs.

When his turn came, Harry popped his piece in his mouth and began chewing. It was actually pretty good; a cross between banana and coconut. As soon as he swallowed the last bite, a warm tingle began in his stomach. It spread upwards until he felt a gentle buzz in his head. He looked around to see if anyone else was feeling the same thing, only to find all of them with small goofy smiles.

Fred looked over at him. "Hey Harry what do you think of Percy?"

Startled by the question, Harry opened his mouth to tell him that he had no ill feelings against the estranged Weasley, but that wasn't what came out of his mouth. "I never really liked him. I also think he's―"

"It's working," Fred said happily. "If I know you Harry, you were going to say some rubbish about how you didn't really have a opinion about Percy. Weren't you?"

Harry just nodded, afraid to open his mouth. His was frightened at how close he had came to spilling the fact that he thought Percy was becoming a Death Eater. Fortunately Fred had cut him off before the words had came pouring from his mouth.

"Great. What do you say we get this thing rolling?" George asked holding his wand. He lifted it and muttered a few words under his breath causing a bright orange ball of light to appear in the air. With another flick, the orange ball began bouncing over the heads of everyone in the room. As far as Harry could tell there was no particular pattern to it. "Let's get comfortable. Fred, if you will?"

Fred quickly conjured eight mats on the floor arranged in a tight circle. When he settled down on one the others followed. All the while the orange ball of light kept up its random bouncing. When he saw Harry following its progress Fred explained, "It's a Select Sphere. George and I found it in an old copy of _Wizard Events of the Century_. It was used to pick the order of contestants in things like duels, gobstones, and of course Quidditch tournaments. Shame the spell stopped being used. It's really quite useful."

"Here we go," George said swishing his wand at the Select Sphere causing it to speed up so fast that even Harry had trouble following its erratic path. "Let's see who goes first."

A few seconds later the orange blur suddenly stopped above Ron's head. The red head gulped then looked at his brothers to see what to do, only to pale when he saw the evil grins on their faces. "Truth or Dare, Ron?"

"Truth," Ron muttered looking extremely nervous. He glanced over at Hermione but she only shrugged, looking a the twins.

"Brilliant," Fred breathed. He and George whispered together for a moment then pulled away from each other with wider smiles. "Okay Ron, here goes. Have you ever imagined a Slytherin girl, any year, without her clothes on and if so, who?"

Never in the six years they've been friends had Harry seen Ron get so red. His eyes bulged and terrified, Ron managed to gasp, "W-w-what?"

Alicia, Angelina, and Ginny all giggled hysterically while Hermione kept looking between Ron and the twins with an anxious frown. Right then Harry knew the night was going to be extremely embarrassing and yet he couldn't help but lean forward interested in what answer his best friend, the same guy who was so anti-Slytherin, would give.

"Either answer the question or take your chances with a dare," Fred said.

Ron clearly didn't like the idea of taking a dare, which Harry didn't blame him for as the one he wrote down himself would kill him of embarrassment. Ron finally sighted. "Yeah fine, I have."

"Who?" Ginny asked her eyes dancing with mirth.

For some reason Ron looked away from Harry and Hermione before answering. "Millicent Bulstrode."

The twins, their dates, and Ginny all burst out laughing while Harry could only sit still trying to convince himself that Ron had _not_ just said that he had imagined the ugly Slytherin naked. But it was Hermione's reaction that surprised them all.

"WHAT?" Hermione screamed, glaring at Ron. "That...that...pig-headed slag?"

Managing to catch his breath for a second Fred said, "I don't think it was her pig head our sick brother was picturing, Hermione."

"But...I mean...it's just happened once," Ron looked up his eyes pleading for them to understand. He opened his mouth again, which proved to be a mistake as the truth taffy took control of his words "I just couldn't get the picture of you and her going at each other without any―"

This time Hermione screamed so loud that Harry had to cover his ears. "RONALD BILIUS WEASLEY! HOW DARE YOU?"

This new information set the twins and the other girls off again, Ginny laughing so hard that she was clutching her stomach in pain. Hermione didn't speak another word to Ron, or anyone else to that fact, until her turn came after Alicia and Angelina had a go. Both of older girls were asked the same question by George.

"Did you ever want to meet Wood in the Quidditch looker room for something other than practice?" he asked wagging his eyebrows.

Alicia, although colored slightly, answered the question without hesitating. "Yes. He did look quite good in those robes, and I always hoped to sneak a peak of him coming out of the shower at least once. But before that happened he turned into the captain from hell and I lost interest."

George took this well, then turned and asked the question to Angelina when the orange ball of light picked her next. She gave him a cheeky smile. "Of course I did. I missed one of Professor McGonagall's homework assignments and met him early one morning in the locker room to ask him if he would let me copy his notes."

Fred laughed, patting George on the back. "Admit it bro. She pulled a fast one over you. Should have made the question more specific."

When the bushy haired girl's turn came, she waited calmly. Finally after a quick huddled whisper with George, Fred lay it on her. "When you first saw Ron and Harry on the train who did you―"

"Who said I wanted the truth?" Hermione interrupted.

"What?" Fred asked puzzled.

Hermione sighted impatiently. "Aren't we playing Truth or Dare? I don't want to answer a question so I pick a dare."

He gave Hermione an appraising look then nodded, summoning the box they all had put dares into. Hermione tapped the lid of the box with her wand and caught the scrap of paper when it shot into the air. Harry waited, holding his breath. He would have never thought Hermione to agree to do something without even knowing what it was beforehand.

She quickly read the paper, arched an eyebrow and ,although it looked like she was fighting it, a small smile broke out. "You know, I might even enjoy this."

"Bloody hell woman," Fred and George both cried. "What does it say?"

Hermione looked over at Ron and grinned. Harry couldn't help but feel that she was about to get her revenge. Sure enough when she read the dare, it left all of them speechless but Ginny. "The next time you see Draco Malfoy give him a kiss full on the lips and don't stop until he pushes you away."

Ron looked at her horrified and Harry had a sneaking suspicion that his own face mirrored that of his best friend. Not at the thought of Hermione kissing Draco, but that he could have drawn that dare himself as he had been thinking about picking a dare instead of answering one of the twin's humiliating questions.

"Aw Hermione. I was hoping one of the boys would get that one," Ginny said with a fake pout.

This broke the twin's silence. "You know what Forge?"

"Do tell Gred."

"I really hope I'm there to see it when it happens," Fred said shaking his head in wonder. Then he glanced at Ginny. "And to think our little sister came up with that extremely evil dare."

George nodded. He clutched his hands over the left side of his chest. "It warms my heart to see that she's following along in our footsteps."

"But should we be worried?"

"I know what you mean. After all we can't have anyone more devious than us in the family."

"Oh shut up you two," Angelina said smiling.

"Are we really going to make Hermione do the dare? Can't she pick another one?" Ron asked looking sick.

But before Fred or George could answer Hermione shook her head. "No Ron, I'm going to do it. We all agreed to the rules of the game before we started so we all have to abide by them," she said, rather defiantly. Harry was beginning to think this was the beginning of another famous row between his two best friends when Hermione once again surprised him by grinning at Ron. "Nevertheless, think how much it will sicken him when a mudblood kisses him. How would he ever live it down to his friends?"

Ron stared blankly at her before breaking into his own smile. "Oh you're right. Although I don't see how anyone could kiss you and not love it."

"Nice try Ron, but you're not getting off that easy."

The next person the select sphere stopped on was Fred, who chose truth. Angelina announced that she was not going to let George give him an easy question. After thinking for a moment a satisfied smile crossed her face. "Okay Fred, here goes. Have you and George ever switched places with each other to see how good a snog the other's girlfriend is?"

Fred exchange a worried glance with George, who only shrugged his shoulders nervously as if saying, _You might as well tell them and get it over with. _"Yeah. George was always bragging that Alicia was a great kisser and I of course said you were even better. So we made a bet and pretended to be each other to see who was right."

The twins cringed after Fred finished speaking, expecting an angry outburst but only looked on perplexed as Angelina and Alicia laughed. Angelina rolled her eyes. "Did you really think we didn't notice? You may be identical in appearance but you two definitely don't kiss the same."

"And you just let us get away with it?" Fred asked numbly. Apparently after living with Mrs. Weasley for so many years, he wasn't used to the idea of a woman knowing he had pulled something and then let him get away with it without any punishment.

"Why not?" Angelina replied then winked at him. "Besides, who says you two were the only ones curious to try the experiment. Alicia and I always wondered the same thing about you two."

Alicia nodded. "So who won the bet?"

George, freshly recovered, gave her a dazzling smile. "That, my girl, is question that won't be answered. Fred's turn is over."

And to prove his point, the Select Sphere once again began bouncing around. It eventually came to a stop over Ginny who giggled then told them she wanted a dare before the twins could even ask her a question. Harry wasn't all too surprised. After all, her competitive nature was one of the things which attracted him to her in the first place. He only hoped it didn't involve snogging the brains out of some other bloke like Hermione's had.

Unfortunately the dare Ginny summoned out of the box wasn't much better. After scanning it Ginny read it aloud, her eyes sparkling mischievously. "Write a letter to one of the following five people and declare your love to them in it. Use any wording you choose to but the letter must be filled with adoring mush and be at least six inches long."

"Okay which one of you wrote this?" Ginny asked looking at the twins.

Fred and George stared innocently back as if to say, _Who us?_

"Who are the five names?" Ron asked and Harry had to admit he was more than curious himself. But with each new name Ginny read off, he suddenly realized what the saying about curiosity and the cat really meant.

"If you are a girl; Argus Filch, caretaker at Hogwarts. Rufus Scrimgeour, our beloved minister. Peter Pettigrew, sneaky cowardly rat. Severus Snape, greasy-haired git on the run. Or for extra points, Voldemort, hideous and crazed dark lord," Ginny said softly laughing when she finished. Then she turned the paper over.

"If you are a boy; Argus Filch, who knows which way he swings? Professor McGonagall, newly instated Headmistress of Hogwarts. Dolores Umbridge, that irresistible toad-like beauty. Bellatrix "Black" Lestrange, dominatrix of your heart? Or for extra points, Voldemort, snake-like being of unknown sex." This time when she finished everyone was on the floor laughing helplessly. It had the twin's twisted sense of humor all over it.

A few minutes later when Harry started to object, Ginny quieted him with a kiss. "Now shush Harry. Remember what Hermione said; the same applies to me."

The next victim turned out to be George who couldn't look more pleased to choose truth. Since Angelina had the honors with her man, Alicia came up with the question. From the quickness in which she asked, it seemed she had been thinking of the question for awhile now. "Out of all the professors at Hogwarts, who do you think is the hottest?"

George shook his head. "Too easy Alicia. The hottest teacher at Hogwarts is Madam Hoo―" George started to say then made a ragged choking noise. Apparently the truth taffy was taking over for when he opened his mouth, it was quite a different woman than the flying instructor, that came out. "P-p-professor Sprout! Seeing her covered in dirt always did something for me, alright?"

Again everyone couldn't help but laughing until cramps throbbed across their stomachs. All Fred could do, was stare at his twin in a kind of fascinated horror. Alicia sat back up, wiping tears from her eyes, grinning. "The Herbology teacher? That's going to keep me laughing for years. Thanks George."

"Ha ha," George grumbled, then raised his voice to drown out a still chuckling Ron. "Moving on! We all know who's next, seeing how he's the only one who hasn't gone yet."

No sooner was he done speaking than the orange ball of light shot from George to hover above Harry. Knowing that it was now his turn wiped every inclination to laugh from Harry. It seemed like Fred and George spent an ungodly amount of time whispering to each other and when they broke apart he didn't like their identical fiendish grins one bit.

Harry had picked truth, and now was seriously regretting it even before the twins posed his question. "Okay Harry, this is a quite simple question. Other than Ginny, have you ever fantasized about one of the girls in this room? We want all the specifics who, when, where, and why."

Knowing if he chickened out and went with a dare, he would likely end up with something crazy like proposing to every Hogwarts Professor he saw, Harry answered the question. "Yes," was all he was going to say but then the combination of wanting to explain himself and the truth taffy caused him to go on.

"During first year I would stay late after a practice, working on my flying, and I wasn't really paying attention to where I was going afterwards and accidentally walked into the girls locker room. I saw Angelina and Alicia stepping out of the showers. Luckily they were busy talking and didn't see me. And during the very end of third year and the beginning of fourth year, when I spent so much time with Hermione I couldn't help but notice she was growing quite nicely. I―"

"Okay I think that's enough," said Ginny curtly, glaring at the twins.

Harry, his neck and face burning, refused to look up. He knew all of them would be looking at him upset and disgusted, except for the twins perhaps. Angelina and Alicia would be fuming that he had seen them naked, and Hermione would be aghast that he had the nerve to think that way about her. And Ron...well Ron would be barely holding himself back from jumping across the circle and strangling him. While Ginny's hurt face would kill him.

But the twins, as was their way, cut the silence in the room. "My, my, Harry. We do get around, don't we?" Fred asked chuckling.

"Remind me to keep closer watch on Alicia, Gred."

"Will do Forge, as long as you do the same for me."

"Agreed. Can't have Harry come in and snatch them away from us can we?"

Angelina laughed. "If you two don't shut up we may leave you for him anyway. Oh relax Harry. We're not mad at you."

When he finally looked up, his two ex-teammates were smiling. Alicia nodded with a gleam in her eyes. "Actually, it kinds of evens us up, if you know what I mean. All I'll say is that Ginny will be a happy girl someday."

"Alicia!" Angelina gasped, giggling. "I think we've embarrassed Harry enough."

Luckily for Harry, who wanted nothing more at that moment than to crawl into bed and not show his face for another year, a loud crack announced the arrival of Mr. Weasley. The tired man briefly explained that Mrs. Weasley was now in Hogwarts, under Madam Pomfrey's care and that her condition hadn't changed. That was all Ron's dad said before wishing them a good night and disappearing up the stairs to his room. They decided to quit playing. Even though a silencing charm could have been put up so they didn't disturb Mr. Weasley, everyone was getting sleepy.

But before the twins and the two girls left the group was adamant that they continue the game sometime in the future as none of them hadn't laughed so much in a long time. Harry, Ginny, Ron, and Hermione all agreed for the same reason. Goodbyes were exchanged and Harry was left with his friends.

"I think I'm going to go to bed," Hermione said trying to hold back a yawn. "Goodnight Harry, Ginny. Will you walk me to the bedroom Ron?"

When they were alone, Ginny pulled Harry's head down and kissed him, running her hands through his hair as she deepened it.

Harry pulled away long enough to say, "So I take it you're not mad at me?"

Ginny grinned. "Just as long as you don't turn into a jealous maniac when you read my letter to my secret love."

They both laughed. Ginny glanced up the stairs with a knowing smile. "I wonder what Ron and Hermione are busy doing."

"This," Harry whispered leaning over and kissing her.

A few moments later she backed away smiling, "Goodnight Mr. Potter."


End file.
